Pokemon: The Journey to be the Best
by CrimsonMercenary
Summary: Follow the adventures of Pokemon Trainer Kyle Rogers, his friend Zack Porter, and their rival Draco Lucian as they travel through the amazing world of Pokemon in the Kanto region, all with the ambition to become the Pokemon League Champion! Expect a great plot, tons of pokemon, tons of battles, and hopefully a good read! I'd appreciate your feedback in reviews if you don't mind
1. The Three Trainers Meet

**A word from the author: **_Hello there! CrimsonMercenary here, with a new pokemon story about my own original trainers! The story and its characters may be original but I definitely don't want to take any credit for the amazing creation known as the world of Pokemon. This story takes place in the KANTO region and those will be the Pokemon that will be appearing in the story...and I don't own any of them :)_

_Please let me know what you think of my story via review or message...I am ALWAYS interested in the opinions of my readers! Also, if you have the idea of any kind of trainer that my characters could meet up, feel free to drop me some details. I am definitely open to the idea of including some of YOUR characters in my story, so give me a holler and we'll see what happens!**  
**_

* * *

**Pokemon: The Journey to be the Best**

**Chapter 1:**

**The Three Trainers Meet**

Kyle Rogers couldn't sleep because he was so excited about starting his very own Pokemon journey. He tried, about eight hours ago to hit the sack, but the idea of receiving his first Pokemon on his fourteenth birthday was far too exciting allow a fine night's rest to be a reality.

Finally the moment had arrived. It was 6 am, and Kyle knew that his day would need to begin. The boy jumped out of bed, already dressed in his black shirt, blue jeans, and slipped on his red and white tennis shoes. Kyle then went over to his closet, ruffled his messy blonde hair to make sure it was somewhat presentable, and threw on his light red jacket. He put on his father's golden watch and looked down at the device's face, which never had the right time. To be honest, Kyle's watch had stopped working years ago but it reminded him of his father. Kyle's dad left ten years ago, when Kyle was four, on a journey and neither Kyle nor his mother knew where he had gone. Kyle did know that his dad was a very skilled Pokemon trainer and that often the Elite Four and the Pokemon Champion herself, Raven Grayson, would call Kyle's dad personally to enlist his help on global tasks of great importance. It was a silly dream, but Kyle often fantasized about becoming the best Pokemon trainer in the world and somewhere in his travels having the opportunity to meet his father once again. It was a lofty dream, but one that Kyle held very dear to him. Kyle reflected on this dream as he looked at his father's old golden watch, which served as a constant reminder of his ambition to reunite himself with his dad.

After brushing his teeth and packing a backpack of clothing and other necessities, Kyle rushed downstairs and sped towards the front door. His speed walk was interrupted by a familiar, loving, and stern voice.

"Hold it right there, Mister!" Kyle's mom spoke as she peeked her head into the front hallway from the kitchen. "I know it's a big day for you, and this is the day that you'll be starting your very own Pokemon adventure and that you're so excited about getting your very first Pokemon from Professor Davis today, but don't you think you should eat something before you go to the lab?"

"I can't be bothered by such a seemingly insignificant thing such as FOOD right now!" Kyle's tone was very annoyed. "I am going to be late to pick up my Pokemon from Professor Davis! He only has a few this year, and if I don't get one now, I may miss out! Don't worry, I'll be back home in a little bit to chow down some grub and you can meet my new Pokemon pal!"

"OK then." Kyle's mom replied as she went back into the kitchen, "Just make sure that you do come back! I'd hate for you to leave Crimson Town without saying good bye to me!"

Kyle left his house and began walking down the paved street of Crimson Town towards Professor Davis's laboratory. Crimson Town was a moderately small town on Grain Island, which was a remote island that was off of the Kanto Region. All the Pokemon trainers that had their start on Grain Island would leave from Port Nile and sail to Pallet Town. Once at Pallet Town, trainers would begin their Pokemon Journey to the Indigo Plateau to challenge the greatest trainers in Kanto in the Pokemon League. If the trainers became the Pokemon League Champion, they would have a chance to battle the Elite Four and earn their place in Kanto's hall of fame. This was a great task that many Pokemon trainers strived for, but very few would ever actually reach.

* * *

Kyle entered the Pokemon lab to see that there were two other beginning trainers waiting on Professor Davis. The taller of the two (who also was slightly taller than Kyle) wore a dark green trench coat, white shirt, and blue jeans. He also wore sun glasses and had short red hair. He seemed to pay very little attention to either Kyle or the other fourteen year old that was present. The other trainer had short brown hair that was spiked up with styling gel and deep brown eyes. He had a slender build and wore a sleeveless blue shirt with red basketball shorts. It was clear that this kid enjoyed the outdoors and any kind of athletic activity. As Kyle entered the room, the athletic kid turned and looked at him as the red headed boy simply glanced over apathetically in Kyle's direction.

"Um, hi." Kyle greeted the two with a slightly nervous, "Are you guys here to get a Pokemon from Professor Davis?"

"You bet!" The brown haired boy was very excited. "My name is Zack, Zach Porter! What's yours?"

"I'm Kyle Rogers, it's nice to meet you! Are you from Crimson Town? I've never seen either of you around here to be honest."

"Actually I walked here from up the east coast from the beach village of Gladus. Professor Davis has a stunning reputation on this island for obtaining the best Pokemon. I figured if I was going to become the next Pokemon League champion, then I'd need the best and the brightest!"

"I wouldn't get to excited about becoming the next Pokemon Champion." The other boy in the room spoke in a cold and very emotionless voice, "Because that next champion is destined to be me."

"Ok then, future champ…" Kyle said, "What's your name?"

"Draco. And thankfully, I'm not from around this ridiculous excuse for a town either. I came up from the Lucian Manor because like Shorts over there, I heard that Professor Davis offers the best Pokemon…Like yourselves, I'm here to begin my journey today as well."

"Wow!" Kyle exclaimed, "You're a Lucian? Your family is super famous all over the island for the trainers that have come from your mansion. From what I've heard you guys are practically bred to become Pokemon champions. I guess if you've spent the past fourteen years of your life at that Pokemon mansion training with practically royalty, you must be even more excited about getting your first Pokemon more then us!"

"Excitement is a foolish and temporary sentiment that is reserved for those who don't have destinies worth pursuing." Draco didn't even show Kyle the respect of looking at him when he spoke. "If you're made to obtain true greatness, because of the grandeur of your purpose, excitement is a wasted emotion because every moment would only be greater than the last. Furthermore, I could care less about whatever Pokemon I receive here. I have been training with creatures that far surpass the ability of any low level Pokemon that Professor Davis could have recently caught in the wild…unfortunately Pokemon League law states that all trainers must start their quest to the Indigo Plateau with a Pokemon Professor ordained pokemon, and this professor has a great reputation…so here I am.

"Is it true that Raven Grayson was raised in your house?" Zack asked, very excited to meet this celebrity, despite the fact that his personality left much to be desired. "I mean THE Raven Grayson."

"Raven Grayson is my adopted half sister." Draco responded. "My purpose as my family has trained me is to meet her in the Pokemon League and defeat her to restore the Lucian name to the Pokemon League as the rightful champion. Make no mistake, Raven Grayson may have been raised in our house, but she is NO Lucian."

"That's right…" Kyle replied, "I remember reading something about how you guys disowned her once she stopped an Team Rocket scandal that supposedly originated from minds in the Lucian household."

"Believe whatever story you want." Draco's voice had no empathy or fluctuation in his cold tone. "The fact remains that I will beat Raven, and become the champion…you all should save yourself a wasted journey and go home now. Perhaps you could look into more productive ventures to pursue involving Pokemon."

"No chance!" Zack responded as he hit his fist on a table, frustrated at Draco's belittling attitude. "I have dreams too, and my number one goal is to become the greatest trainer in Kanto. I want to be so good that the Elite Four themselves ask me to join their crew! Think about it…Zack Porter…member of the Elite FIVE! I may be so good that I won't just be a member…but the LEADER! Now, that'd be awesome!"

"Well…" Kyle muttered to himself, but loud enough that the other two heard him. "its good to see that my dreams of becoming the Pokemon Champion are purely original…"

Suddenly a door that was disguised as a wall opened and a tall and bald man with large, heavy glasses in a lab coat walked out as he spoke. "So you all have dreams that you wish to obtain, I'm sure…good, and that will be what will drive you on this very cumbersome quest you will be embarking on."

"It's about time you showed up, old man." Draco was clearly impatient yet his voice remained calm. "I don't know what you could have POSSIBLY been doing all that time in the other room when I've been waiting here for hours…sign my certificate, and I'll take your strongest pokemon. You'll feel honored when I return it to you as a champion."

"Quite sure of ourselves aren't we?" Professor Davis spoke as he walked around the boys and pressed in a large capsule at a Poke-table. Three pokeballs rose up from the table each with a large gold D on them. "Very well then, inside these pokeballs are three highly intelligent pokemon. In my laboratory we do things a little differently. I've seen the potential growth of these pokemon and promise you that they are far superior to any of their types that you'll encounter in the wild. In short, I've found the equalivant to Pokemon geniuses, if such anomalies in their species existed. Such fine creatures won't obey just any trainer, I've learned that we must give THEM the opportunity to make the first move. To put it plainly, each of these Pokemon will decide if they want to go with you on your journey…if they do, then you have yourself a unique and extraordinary pokemon companion!"

"Well, that's certainly an interesting turn of events!" Zack spoke, his voice radiating with excitement. "Bring them on out! I'm sure there will be much fighting over which one gets to be trained by me!"

"Very well then." Professor Davis picked up the first ball and released the pokemon who appeared from the red swirling energy that left the ball. "We'll let this first one pick its trainer."

Out of the ball a Machop appeared. It was clear that this Machop was different than it's normal co-hordes. For starters, instead of being bluish grey, this Machop was a almost gold shade of slight yellow. It's eyes burned with competition and pride as it surveyed the three trainers. It began walking around the room, considering its options. It was clear at one point that the pokemon had an idea because it jumped in excitement as it ran over to Draco and slammed it's elbow on the table near him. Draco raised an eyebrow in confusion as he peered through his shades at the pokemon that was looking at him with some sort of challenge.

"What on earth is it doing?" Draco asked.

"He wants to challenge you to an arm wrestling match it appears." Professor Davis quickly scurried around the boys to get a clip board. "Fascinating, I haven't seen such an odd and humane move before."

"Please!" Draco waved his hand in disregard to the pokemon. "What a pathetic notion. I have no interest in playing games with you, find another sucker to toy with."

"I'll bite!" Zack ran over and placed his elbow on the table, his voice as chipper as usual. "Let's see what you got Machop! I wrestled in middle school, my upper body strength is pretty good, if I do say so myself!"

The two locked hands and begun pressing towards the opposite direction in the arm wrestling match. For a while it appeared even then Machop shut its eyes and focused deeply, it started to slowly push Zack's hand onto the ground until he had won the contest. Zack let out a fast breath as the two released hands.

"Dang that was close!" Zack spoke as Machop jumped up and down in victory. "Now you HAVE to come with me so I can beat you, fair in square! We can train together, and I'll probably surpass you!"

Machop peered into Zack's eyes with interest, and nodded his head with enthusiasm. It was clear that this pokemon had found his master. Professor Davis gave Zack the pokeball and Machop eagerly awaited as the athletic boy put him back in the pokeball.

"Splendid!" Davis spoke as he reached for the second pokeball. "I believe you two will make the best of friends, let's see who our next contestant is, shall we?"

The red swirling lights appeared and out of the energy surge appeared a dark purple Abra that seemed to have a very intense persona. It looked deeply into the eyes of both Kyle and Draco, debating which one it considered worthy. The pokemon's eyes fell on Kyle finally, and it quickly touched his hand to his own head. Suddenly Kyle and Draco heard a loud internal screech within themselves, and their heads hurt for a brief second. After doing whatever mind trick Abra did, it shook its head, not impressed with Kyle and moved towards Draco.

"This one seems powerful at such a young form." Draco responded as he reached for Professor Davis's pokeball without even asking. "I'll take him; I believe it knows that we'll make an unstoppable duo."

"I believe you're right." Professor Davis shook his head in concern. "Though I must say, I think this Abra, as powerful as it is, has a very nasty disposition. Perhaps a good trainer will give it a better attitude….Let us see what our third pokemon is!"

The scientist summoned from the final pokeball and a Growlithe with crimson red fur appeared barking at the group. It was clear that this pokemon was the youngest of the three and still a bit wild. Kyle looked intently in the pokemon's eyes and prayed that this pokemon would accept him…it was after all, Professor Davis's last pokemon. Growlithe seemed to take notice that both Zack and Draco had a pokemon and so it's attention turned to Kyle. It trudged over to the trainer and began sniffing him and looked into the boy's eyes, as if trying to understand what was going through his head.

"_Please pick me…please pick me…come on!"_ Kyle thought to himself as the puppy was analyzing him.

After a moment or two, the pokemon simply turned around and walked back towards Professor Davis.

"What the heck?" Kyle exclaimed in frustration, "Is he even allowed to do that? I mean what other choice does he have? I'm the last trainer here!"

"I told you before, these pokemon don't just respond to any trainer." Professor Davis sighed in concern for the young trainer, "Growlithe has the choice of not obeying you…and it appears that is what he decided to do, I'm truly sorry son…perhaps we can go out together after this and catch you a fine pokemon of a less rare caliber."

"Forget that…" Kyle said as he moved to the puppy who turned around and looked back at him inquisitively. "I want this one…but why wouldn't he want me? What's a matter boy, do you not trust me? Maybe you don't think I'm strong, huh? Come on, how could you possibly think that, you don't even know me!"

"Hey Kyle, I got an idea!" Zack face ignited with pride of his smart thought, "Try to coach Growlithe through a match with Machop. Maybe if it can see you're a solid trainer, it'll want to be with you. I don't know, it's worth a shot."

Growlithe's head tilted in interest of the idea, and he barked a couple times in agreement. Kyle smiled in satisfaction as excitement arose. This was a chance to prove himself to this rare pokemon. Kyle KNEW he'd be the perfect trainer for Growlithe, and now it was time for him to show the fire pokemon personally.

"OK, lets do it!" Kyle walked behind Growlithe who now turned to Zack, who was releasing Machop. "A quick one on one pokemon battle…sounds like fun, doesn't it Growlithe? You're strong, and I'm smart…between the two of us I think we'll really make a great team. I know you don't think that now, but trust me, you'll see!"

"Don't get cocky." Zack said as he clenched his fist in competition. "I may have offered to help you out, friend…but I won't go easy on you. And let me tell you, I'm no slouch! Also, just take one good look at Machop…this pokemon means business! And come on, Growlithe looks like he's a little young to be any kind of threat, I don't care how special he is…come on Machop, we got this match in the bag"

Machop grunted in agreement as he flexed his muscles and got into a fighting pose. Draco on the other hand let out a very bored sigh and began to leave the lab. As he walked out the door he spoke. "This has nothing to do with me, I have much more important things to do. Thank you for the pokemon, Professor Davis, and good luck looking after these babies. I'm off to go conquer the Pokemon World. Very soon all of Kanto will bask in the glorious name of Draco Lucian."

"I haven't seen such unusual pokemon in some time!" Professor Davis spoke with excitement as he jotted notes down in his pad. "This growlithe really seems interested in seeing how you fare as a trainer, boy…Good luck! I hope you two don't mind, but I'd love to video tape this match for research purposes. This is not just a monumental moment for science, this will also be both of yours first pokemon battle!"


	2. Growlithe vs Machop

**Chapter 2:**

**Growlithe Verses Machop**

"This will be a one on one pokemon match." Professor Davis stood in between Kyle, Zack, and the two pokemon. "Zack and his Machop will battle against Kyle and Growlithe."

"Let's go Machop!" Zack was teeming with excitement for his first pokemon match, "Let me see your best Karate Chop!"

The muscular humanoid pokemon lunged forward and swung his left arm down towards Growlithe. The flame puppy quickly jolted to the right and began barking angrily at Machop. Kyle knew that this was his chance to land the first blow against Zack and his Machop.

"Ok Growlithe, lets land a strong counter attack! Use Tackle now!"

Growlithe rushed forward and leapt towards Machop. Zack had expected such a response from his opponent and was ready to give another command to his pokemon. "Machop, he's coming straight towards you! Use Low Kick now!"

Machop twirled around and smacked Growlithe square in the nose with his massive foot. The kick was powerful enough to send the dog flying into an empty crate on the other side of the pokemon lab. Growlithe struggled to get out of the crate as Kyle rushed over to check to see the puppy's condition.

"Growlithe are you okay!?" Kyle quickly moved the crate to let the dog out freely, as it was on top of him. The dog snarled and nipped at Kyle, which caused the boy to jump back.

"Don't you know anything?" Zack yelled from the other side of the room, "You never personally get involved in a pokemon battle! That's very disrespectful to the pokemon. Man, maybe Growlithe is better off with a different trainer…heck, if he wants to I'd take him too! That's a tough pup there!"

"Ok Ok!" Kyle shook off his dumb mistake and tried to focus back on the battle. "Sorry about that Growlithe, I promise I'm not usually that rude! Let's try this thing again…Let's see. Close quarters with Machop may not be the best thing for us, oh I know! Growlithe let lose some embers!"

The pokemon started to bark and concentrated hard, but seemed unable to do anything. Kyle spoke again. "Come on Growlithe, you're a fire pokemon and Ember is the most simple base fire attack. Use Ember!"

The dog barked more and shook its head in frustration. Professor Davis took this moment to chime in his opinion. "Kyle, was it? It appears that Growlithe doesn't know how to use ember yet. You can only give it commands to moves that it knows how to do! Remember, that pokemon is still a young puppy…its aptitude is wonderful for its level, but the level is still low none the less. "

"_Great…"_ Kyle thought to himself,_ "Some genius pokemon...or maybe it's not the pokemon but the trainer. Man…I have to pull through this, I need to earn Growlithe's respect!"_

"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you, Rogers." Zack pointed at his opponent. "Machop it's time to finish things off, try your Karate Chop again!"

Growlithe started to bark louder in protest as Machop ran towards him. Kyle found himself stunned, unable to come up with an appropriate battle plan. From the looks of Growlithe, he was a little to battered up from Machop's low kick that he would be unable to dodge another chop. Along with that, if Kyle ordered the pokemon to rush forward with a tackle attack, he was putting Growlithe once again into Machop's low kick range.

"Order your pokemon to do something!" Professor Davis's tone was urgent. "If you just let him stand there then he's a sitting duck!"

"I…Growlithe…Use…Oh just do something!" Kyle was frantic with cluelessness.

Growlithe's barks grew louder and louder as Machop moved closer and they climaxed in great volume as his left arm fell down upon the dog's face. All humans present then were shocked at what took place. Growlithe let out a massive and wounded cry as he was hit by Machop. The yell was so loud and powerful that it sent Machop flying into a wall with such great impact that it left a little dent in the professor's corner. The trainers were shocked to see the outcome of their first battle. Machop was unconscious from the impact it received from hitting the wall, and Growlithe was laying on the ground unconscious from the karate chop from its opponent. There was a long pause of silence as everyone in the room waited for one of the pokemon to raise to his feet. Finally, Professor Davis spoke.

"What an absolutely miraculous sight! In this short battle that Growlithe taught itself how to do a Roar attack. And even more amazing was the great power that laid a one hit KO on Machop. How impressive! Roar is a skill that typically pokemon such as Growlithe learn at a much higher level…and yet he just mastered it! And the power in it's voice…phenomenal! And lets not overlook the young Machop's great power! I believe there are Machokes out there that would be impressed with that little guy's strength…Both Pokemon seem unable to fight, I believe we will have to call this first match of yours a draw. We should help those two recover though. Their bodies aren't used to that kind of tension yet!"

Zack walked over and used a wet rag to help wake up Machop, took the Pokemon's arm and helped him to a pokemon center bed that had rejuvenating properties to it. Kyle went into the opposite direction, picked up Growlithe, and took him to another bed and watched as he began to recover. The cute puppy's bright blue eyes slowly began to open as it regained consciousness. Kyle spoke softly to Growlithe as it was recovering.

"So I know you probably think I'm a horrible trainer…" Kyle whispered as he softly pet the dog, "I kind of froze up there at the end of our battle. That duel taught me something though, and that is that when it comes to pokemon battles I need to be way more decisive to help protect my pokemon. But hey, you learned something too! I've never seen anything like that roar, I bet when you get older you'll be able to level buildings with it! Well, maybe not…but it certainly was powerful! Maybe I didn't shine like you were expecting me too…I know I did far worse then I was expecting…but Growlithe, you taught me something in that fight and I think I can teach you things too. If you'll have me, together I think we'd make a great team. What do you say, boy?"

Growlithe took a moment to think about Kyle's offer and then slowly nodded his head as he closed his eyes to rest. And as the pokemon took a quick power nap, Kyle Rogers realized that this extraordinary Growlithe was officially his first pokemon.

* * *

After both their pokemon recovered, the boys thanked Professor Davis for his generous gifts and the scientist wished them luck on their Pokemon journey. Kyle invited Zack back to his house for the evening, as he still needed to eat and say good bye to his mother. Mrs. Rogers served a wonderful supper and even included delicious food that Growlithe and Machop ate happily. After dinner the boys sat outside on the deck of the house and watched the sunset. Their eyes fell on the path leading outside of Crimson Town as the contemplated the beginning of their journey that started tomorrow.

"Port Nile isn't too many days away from here." Zack spoke. "We should stop by Gladus on our way there since we'll be passing that direction. I'll return the favor and have my parents make the best meal you've ever tasted!"

"So starting tomorrow it'll all be about our road to becoming the Pokemon League Champion." Kyle looked at Zack with an excited smile.

"You realize that sooner or later we're going to have to deal with the fact that both of us can't be the single champion of the Pokemon league, right?" Zack was slightly concerned about his new relationship with his new friend, if the two were indeed going to journey together.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Kyle spoke as he looked up at the sky. "I can promise you this…even though our match ended in a draw thanks to some dumb luck and my impressive pokemon, next time we go I'll be a much harder opponent!"

"I look forward to it!" Zack said as he jumped up and started to yell at no one in particular. "HEY LISTEN UP WORLD! MY NAME IS ZACK PORTER, AND THIS IS MY FRIEND KYLE ROGERS…AND WE'RE GOING TO BE THE BEST POKEMON TRAINERS TO HAVE EVER EXISTED! ONE OF US WILL BE YOUR NEXT CHAMPION, SO YOU BETTER GET READY!"


	3. Trapped in the Crimson Woods

**A Word from the Author: **_Well, here it is, chapter 3! I hope you enjoy the story thus far, and I want to give a special thanks to Sanguine-Sacrament for his review and encouragement! Shameless plug time, Sanguine also has a cool new pokemon story out there about a OC trainer named Dane that promises to be epic! If u have a spare moment, I reccomend checking it out! And for you other 19 readers that are out there, I'd love to know what you think about my story...so don't be a stranger!_

_Well, that's enough out of me...enjoy the chapter!**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Trapped in the Crimson Woods**

Kyle and Zack woke up early the next day to begin their adventure to Port Nile, which was located on the other side of the tiny island. To reach the port town, the boys would have to travel through the Crimson woods to the Gladus beaches, through the small town of Gladus, and then do a short hike up and down Grain mountain and then they would reach Port Nile. Once at the Port, the two boys would be able to board the S.S Oliva and sail to Pallet Town, where their real journey begun. Once Kyle and Zack packed up their backpacks with the bare necessities from Kyle's mom's house, they hit the road through Crimson Woods to reach the beaches.

The forest was dense and lush, and all around Kyle and Zack there were many sounds of creatures and surely various pokemon scurrying around. As they walked along the dirt path, Zack babbled enthusiastically about them visiting his hometown.

"I think you're really going to love Gladus, Kyle. First of all, it's on the beach so you can imagine the relaxing atmosphere there! Honestly, I think after wandering through this thick forest for a day or so we'll be ready for a short break…and then there is the food. Oh, you'll love my mom's cooking and…"

Suddenly a loud crack was heard as the boys were walking. They paused and carefully examined their surroundings. Kyle spoke as he surveyed the area, trying to find something suspicious. "Zack did you hear…"

Before the word _something_ could be uttered, the two boys suddenly were snatched up by trap hunting nets that were set on the ground and cleverly disguised. Kyle and Zack now hung from trees imprisoned by the nets that they stepped on.

"What the heck did you do?" Zack demanded as he struggled to try to escape, to no avail.

"Me?" Kyle barked back, "I didn't do anything, it was YOU who were babbling on like a moron…you probably stepped on something that was smack dab in front of you without even noticing it!"

"Yeah right, I wouldn't be that stupid!" Zack retorted.

"Are you saying I would?"

The two boys argument was silenced by the sound of laughter coming from the bushes. Within moments two other figures jumped out of the shrubs and continued to laugh at Kyle and Zack. They were older boys, around sixteen or seventeen and both were fairly tall. One had brown eyes and brown spiky hair similar to Zack's and wore a purple button up shirt that was unbuttoned showing his white T shirt with blue jeans. The other had well kept short blonde hair, blue eyes, and silver glasses. He wore a white button up shirt which was tucked in with black pants.

"Well, would you look at that!" the brown haired boy spoke to the other. "It worked! Sure, the idea was to catch a pokemon or two…but it's certainly funnier to catch two moronic boys wandering around without a clue…Zack is that you?"

Kyle was surprised to hear that these two older boys knew Zack. Entrapped in the small net designed for pokemon, Kyle struggled to turn his head to look at his traveling companion. Zack's face started to become red with embarrassment and anger.

"Skyler" he exclaimed as he continued to struggle in the net. "Let us down from these nets this instant! This isn't funny man. We're not pokemon!"

"No but you certainly look goofier then a Lickatung right now, little brother!" Skyler responded. "What do you think Cliff, should we be good Samaritans and let the kiddos out?"

"I don't know, Skyler." The blonde boy named Cliff cracked a menacing half smile as he spoke in a soft and calm voice. "Didn't little Zachery become a full fledged pokemon trainer recently? Us trainers have to be ready for anything when we journey around the world…I think it's for his own good if you leave him like this, don't you think?"

"You got to be kidding!" Kyle wrestled with the nets trying himself to get out. "Come on guys, this isn't funny. Let us out!"

"Oooh and you have a new friend too, eh little brother?" Skyler spoke as he noticed Kyle. "Well then, I don't feel so bad for leaving you out here then…at least you have some company! Well, we don't want to be late…if we leave now we can make it back to Gladus now for mom's famous lasagna! It's to die for, you should really have your new friend over sometime when mother's making it. I think he'd really love it!"

"What's the big idea here, Skyler?" Zack whined, "Come on man, what'd we do to you?"

"Just teaching you a lesson from one pokemon trainer to another." Skyler responded as he and Cliff began walking towards Gladus, "Don't walk into traps and you'll go far, little bro! Hey maybe if you make it home in time you can participate in the town's two on two Pokemon tournament…well, by the time you get out of those nets it may be a little late. Ah well, there's always next year!"

The cruel boys laughed as they waved goodbye to the entrapped pokemon trainers. Zack snarled as he tried to force his way out of the net to no avail. "What a bunch of jerks! I can't believe I'm related to that guy, he's always pulling crap like this off on me at home! One day…I'm going to show him what a man I am, then Skyler won't be able to do ANYTHING like this because I'm going to be a big deal."

"Just wait til we're Pokemon League champs." Kyle said as he bit his lip holding back his frustration towards Skyler and Cliff, "then those guys won't ever want to mess with us."

"Wait…that's it!" A light bulb went off in Zack's head. "We're POKEMON TRAINERS…let's start acting like it! Can you reach your poke ball? We can't get out of these nets on our own, but maybe Machop and Growlithe can help!"

"Good idea!" Kyle exclaimed as the two boys reached down and pressed open their poke balls, releasing Machop and Growlithe onto the ground. "Quick! Growlithe, we could really use some embers to singe these nets so we can break free…try using ember, I know you can do it!"

Growlithe barked and tried his best to somehow create fire from nothing, but the pokemon was unable to do anything productive. Zack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Some fire pokemon you have there! Can't even start a fire...come on Machop, show the puppy how it's done! Use those strong legs to jump really high and just pull this net down with you. One strong tug from you and I know that we can rip this trap open!"

Machop then made several attempts to jump high into the air to rip open the net holding in his trainer, but didn't come anywhere close to jumping as high as he needed to go. He kept trying to jump and eventually started to get frustrated and began punching the tree that the two boys were tied to so hard that it began to shake.

"Hey!" Kyle yelled out as he feared the prospect of falling, entrapped in a net, and dying. "Tell your pokemon with muscles for brains to stop punching the tree, if he knocks it down we could both great really hurt!"

"Hey lay off my pokemon!" Zack's fiery temper was showing in this high stress situation. "At least he's doing something productive here…all we've gotten from your Growlithe is headaches from all his loud and annoying barking. "

The boys argument was interrupted when they looked down to see both their pokemon now wrestling with each other in anger, as apparently they were having a very similar argument that involved releasing their trainers.

"This is stupid!" Kyle came to his senses. "Growlithe and Machop haven't made peace since their last match at Professor Davis's laboratory and here we are bickering as if we were still in a duel. If we're going to get out of here, we need to do it by working together. Come on, think Zack…neither of our pokemon can get us free by themselves, but perhaps if they work together they can."

"Good point Kyle! Let's give it a go. Okay…Machop you can't jump all the way up here, but I bet if you hurl Growlithe you're strong enough to toss him up to reach Kyle."

"That's right!" Kyle played off his friend's idea, "and Growlithe you're sharp teeth could easily break open this feeble net."

The two pokemon stopped their fighting as Growlithe looked up to Kyle in obedience and Machop nodded in acknowledgement. Growlithe took a few steps back and then ran towards Machop, who then used both of his hands to hurl the puppy into the air. Growlithe was thrown high in the air and bit down on the weak rope that trapped Kyle. The rope snapped apart and Kyle slipped out of the net and landed on the hard ground on his bottom. He cried out in pain as this was not the most comfortable way of getting free. Growlithe landed in his arms and licked his face a few times playfully. Kyle gave his dog a few playful pats and then directed him to get help save Zack in the same way. Once Zack was released by Growlithe and Zack the two boys stood up, dusted off their jeans and called back their pokemon.

"See that?" Zack said as they continued to walk down the path towards Gladus. "When we work together we get a lot more done then when we argue! If we really book it, we could probably make it to Gladus by tomorrow afternoon!"

And that's exactly what the boys did. It didn't take them long to leave the forest and hit the soft Gladus beach. Luckily Zack knew exactly how to make it back to his hometown which was about a day's trip on the beach. On the way there, the boy returning to his home told Kyle all about the Gladus 2 on 2 pokemon tournament and how it was the main event of the Gladus Festival that was happening in a couple of days. After much excited discussion, the two boys set their minds on entering the competition when they reached the town. With the prospect of fierce competition (and hopefully payback directed towards Skyler and his friend Cliff) Kyle and Zack were motivated to move swiftly to the town of Gladus.


	4. The Gladus Pokemon Festival Part I

**Chapter 4**

**The Gladus Pokemon Festival Part I**

Kyle and Zack arrived at Gladus, the town on the beach late at night, went to the Porter house and Zack's mom gave them nice warm beds and a late night snack to ease their hunger. They slept comfortably and the next day woke up to a wonderful annual tradition in the little town, the Gladus Pokemon Festival. After a big breakfast made by Mrs. Porter, Zack took Kyle out to show him all the festivities.

There were people at every corner selling snacks, trinkets, and every little thing you could need…and many things that you couldn't. There were exhibitions where people showed off their pokemon and trainers would share with town any kind of obscure talent that their pokemon could answer. All around Gladus were parades, festivities, and a lot of fun all to honor the coexistence between humans and pokemon.

The most exciting event for the pokemon trainers began late in the afternoon, and this was the two on two pokemon tournament. The competition was small, as there weren't many trainers in Gladus, and the winners would be honored in the Pokemon Festival's grand parade on the main float, but many of the townsfolk loved to come and watch trainers come and show off their pokemon's abilities in fierce competition. Teams could sign up and bring their best pokemon to compete against other trainers on a fair two on two matches.

When Kyle and Zack signed up they noticed that there were three other teams of trainers that signed up. One team they had already been acquainted with, Skyler and Cliff. These boys were the talk of the town and winners of the Pokemon Festival Tournament for the past two years. The little children in Gladus adored Skyler and Cliff as if they were celebrities, and you could tell the boys absolutely loved the attention. Kyle rolled his eyes as people idolized the two older trainers, the blonde haired new pokemon trainer had really hoped that he could clean their clocks for trapping he and Zack in Crimson Woods and then just leaving them there.

One of the other teams was composed of boy and girl, about the same age as Kyle and Zack. Like the boys, this was their first pokemon tournament as they were still new trainers. The boy had red hair, freckles, and was very skinny and pale. The girl had medium length green hair, bright blue eyes, and was slightly taller than the boy. Their names were Austin and Kimberly, and they were drawn to be the trainers to battle Kyle and Zack.

I would go into details to explain the other team, but in the grand scheme of things they didn't really matter, because their match up with Skyler and Cliff didn't last long at all. It was a stunning sight for Kyle and Zack to watch, along with the entire rest of the town that came to the beach to observe the exciting pokemon tournament.

The opposing trainers sent out a Pidgey and Rattata. Both Skyler and Cliff stepped up to the small dueling arena made in the sand and appeared very calm, and very serious. The time for jokes and pranks were over, it was obvious that this duo meant business.

"Peck them, Doduo." Cliff summoned his pokemon as he didn't even give the trainers a sign of respect by looking at them.

"Let's soar, Pidgeotto!" Skyler cried out as he threw his poke ball and released his companion. As Doduo and Pidgeotto appeared, the small crowd that came to watch the battle began cheering.

"That's my brother's first pokemon." Zack spoke to Kyle as they stood in the crowd and watched the battle. "He has trained it very well."

"Let's get on with it then." Cliff spoke to Skyler, "I have things I need to do this afternoon, I don't feel like wasting my time with these guys."

"OK then, let's do our One Hit KO!" Skyler smiled with pride. "Piidgeotto, use gust now!"

"Doduo, use sand-attack!" Cliff spoke at the same time.

The people began cheering as the pokemon began gathering wind and sand in a small cyclone. Zack turned and whispered to Kyle. "They call this their Cyclone Attack, by combining the pokemon's attacks they create a very powerful offensive strategy. We need to watch out for this!"

"Noted…" Kyle watched in awe as the cyclone quickly flew towards the opposing pidgey and rattata and flung them around and then caused them to crash into the ground. In one move, both pokemon were defeated. And Skyler and Cliff were named by the Gladus referee as the match's winner.

After a short ten minute break, Kyle and Zack stepped up to begin their battle against Austin and Kimberly. Zack knew these two kids as they were all in the same class, so before the match started the four faced off and spoke.

"Word on the street is that you went to Crimson Town to get some kind of rare starter pokemon, Zack." Kimberly spoke, her voice seemed very tough for a fourteen year old girl. "Did you find yourself one?"

"Yeah, and trust me…he's a force to be reckoned with." Zack responded with a smile.

"Well there is more to training pokemon then just finding the rare ones. Don't think you got this one just cause you got a unique pokemon." Austin chimed in, his voice nerdy and slightly shy. "While you were taking the journey to Crimson Town and hanging out there waiting to meet Professor Davis, we've been training our starters…I think you'll find this a tough match up!"

"Are we done catching up yet?" Kyle spoke as he pulled his pokeball off his belt and enlarged it, "Because I'm ready to go."

"The following will be a two on two pokemon match." The referee spoke as the trainers went to their corresponding sides. "Each trainer will pick one pokemon to fight. The winner will take on our reigning champions for the title of this year's Gladus Festival Champions! Trainers are you ready? _(The trainers nodded)_ GO!"

"Let's rock, Geodude!" Austin summoned his pokemon.

"Let's get this show on the road, Jigglypuff!" Kimberly said confidently as she threw her pokeball and the creature appeared in a red glow.

"Bust em up, Machop!" Zack called out as he brought out his starter.

"Let's go, Growlithe! Start things off with a tackle towards Jigglypuff!" Kyle ordered his unique crimson red fire pokemon.

"Wow, you guys have goofy looking pokemon!" Kimberly exclaimed as she looked at her two opponents. "Their colors are all messed up!"

"Quick Geodude, jump in the way and take the blow for Jigglypuff!" Austin ordered. His pokemon leapt forward (without having legs, mind you!) and Growlithe collided with the hard rock. The puppy bounced back and shook off the temporary daze that came with the collision.

"Now Jigglypuff, sing us a song!" Kimberly pointed at Growlithe as she commanded her pokemon. "And put that dog to sleep!"

"_Jigglypuff…Jiggly….Jigglypuff…Jiggly" _The pokemon began singing Geodude moved out of the way of rainbow colored musical notes that radiated from Jigglypuff. Growlithe slowly laid down and began to snore peacefully as it fell asleep.

"Machop get in there and help Growlithe! Use a low kick on Jigglypuff!" Zack cried out and his pokemon rushed towards its opponents.

"Geodude, be Jigglypuff's shield again!"

The rock pokemon moved forward to block it's partner again, and Zack laughed as he spoke. "Come on, Austin you should know better! Geodude's a rock pokemon, Machop is a fighting pokemon. Our fighting moves will hurt a lot more then Growlithe's tackle!"

Geodude grumbled in pain as he took the impact of Machop's low kick. As Machop reared up for a finishing blow, Karate Chop towards the rock pokemon, Kyle spoke loudly to his pokemon. "Come on Growlithe! Wake up, we need you back in here, buddy!"

Growlithe was unresponsive, and so Kimberly took opportunity of the chance. "Quick, smack Machop with your Pound, Jigglypuff, before he hits Geodude!"

The pokemon obeyed, and hopped over Geodude and socked Machop right in the face. Machop was pushed back a couple inches from the impact and turned around and grunted in disapproval.

"Show him who's boss, Geodude!" Austin ordered, "Use rock throw and finish that golden Machop!"

"Use sing to hold him in place, Jigglypuff!" As Kimberly spoke, her pokemon began to sing again.

Meanwhile Growlithe started to come to, and Kyle quickly yelled again to his pokemon. "Hurry up and wake up Growlithe, run and tackle Jigglypuff NOW!"

Growlithe jolted to his senses and rushed towards the puff pokemon and leapt into it with a lot of force knocking both of the pokemon out of the ring, which disqualified them both from the match. Kimberly quickly yelled at her opponent. "You stupid buffoon! What was the point of that? Now we're both out!"

Kyle smiled, proud of his move, and spoke. "You guys are right, your pokemon are a bit higher level than ours even though we have rarer ones. I decided to take Growlithe and Jigglypuff out of the picture so we could play off of Machop's type advantage over Geodude."

"Who cares about type advantage?" Austin interrupted, "Watch as Geodude's rock throw decimates Machop…stupid plan man!"

"You obviously don't know about Machop's speed as well as we do!" Zack said, having seen exactly why Kyle did what he did. "If he could keep up with Growlithe's speed during our one on one match, he can definitely dodge a few rocks you toss! Quick Machop, dodge the three rocks he's creating and tossing and finish him off with your Karate Chop!"

Machop ducked to avoid one rock, leapt to avoid another, and twirled to dodge the last one. He then ran towards Geodude and crashed down his arm to land a devastating Karate Chop into Geodude's skull. The pokemon fell to the ground unconscious and the referee raised his blue flag and spoke.

"Both Geodude and Jigglypuff are unable to battle, the winners are Zack Porter and Kyle Rogers! They will progress to our finals and take on Skyler Porter and Cliff Samson for the title of Glades Pokemon Festival Champs immediately after the great Glades Festival feast tonight!"

The boys gave each other a high five in joy as they had won their first match against Kimberly and Austin. Kyle went over to check to see if Growlithe was okay, and when the pokemon barked happily, the trainer put his friend back in the poke ball after patting his head and saying "Good job, Growlithe!"

"Way to dominate, Machop!" Zack also complimented his pokemon as he summoned him back into the poke ball. "I can't wait to personally show off more of your moves to Skyler! He won't know what hit him!"

In the crowd, Skyler and Cliff turned to walk back to Gladus Town and Cliff spoke coldly. "Man, what a lucky victory for those little brats, right?"

"I don't know if it was completely luck." Skyler reflected. "Those pokemon didn't just look funny, they were a lot more powerful than they should be for their low level. We'll want to make sure that they don't land many blows on our birds. But the fact remains that Zack will be wildly outmatched by our bird pokemon since he'll be using that Machop. And the other guy…well, he just didn't seem to do much in this match so I'd say we have this year's championship in the bag!"

Kyle watched the two older boys leave the crowd and he heard Skyler's rude comment. He held his pokeball holding Growlithe tightly to his chest and spoke under his breath. "He's right, Growlithe…we didn't do to much this time but in the next match we're going to have to do a lot better. Machop won't be much of a fight against those bird pokemon. We have a few hours until dinner, and I think we need to have a little training session…because I think I have an idea of how to beat those guys!"


	5. The Gladus Pokemon Festival Part II

**A word from the author: **_Well, this chapter took a while to come out didn't it? Sorry, have been busy and you know how it is...sometimes we have time to write and sometimes, not so much! Anyway, this is a more "epic" chapter so its a little longer, so I think you'll find it was worth the wait! A special thanks to my friends,** Sanguine-Sacrament and Fatsquirrel2** for their awesome reviews! I really appreciate it guys! _

_ A gentle reminder that I don't own Pokemon but so far all the character's we've met in this story are originals...if you ever feel like using one feel free to do so, just let me know so I can read the piece! Enough from me, I hope you enjoy the story and please drop a review!**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**The Gladus Pokemon Festival Part II**

"OK Growlithe, I want for you to show me the best roar you have in your lungs!"

After the battle with Kimberly and Austin, Kyle entered the Crimson Woods and summoned Growlithe with high hopes of perfecting his Roar move. As the puppy attempted a loud bark, Kyle was discouraged to see that his attack was not nearly as strong as it was back at Professor Davis's lab in Crimson Town. Kyle shook his head as he spoke to his pokemon.

"Come on Growlithe, I know you can do better than that! Try again, and this time put more power into your roar…I know you have it in you! Come on, knock down that tree!"

Growlithe attempted another roar and barely made the tree sway. Kyle kept encouraging his dog and kept pushing him to roar again. The two practiced in Crimson Woods for hours attempting to perfect Growlithe's roar.

* * *

Many hours later, after Kyle rested up from his extensive training session with Growlithe, he caught up with Zack at the Gladus Pokemon Festival grand banquet. It was a very festive meal, with many pokemon acts that were very impressive and entertaining. The food was all perfectly done and many people from the town came to eat together and enjoy the fun evening. Kyle sat down next to Zack at a large picnic table.

"Where've you been all day?" Zack chomped down on a hamburger as he spoke to his partner in the Gladus Pokemon Festival Tournament.

"I was training with Growlithe this afternoon after our first match." Kyle dug into his steak and potatoes and continued to speak, now with his mouth full. "We kept going for a really long time, until Growlithe fainted of fatigue…I guess I may have pushed him to a bit too much, but he's good after we visited the pokemon center. I also took myself a little nap before I came here too…so I think we're ready to go when it comes to that upcoming match with Skyler and Cliff! I was thinking that maybe me and you should discuss strategy for tonight?"

"I was thinking about that too…" Zack looked down at his half eaten hamburger with a very depressed face as he continued to speak. "We did well in the last match, but I don't know how we're going to beat Skyler and Cliff. I mean, both of them will have bird pokemon which has such an advantage over Machop…and Growlithe can't take both those pokemon by himself…they're to high level, and the trainers have two years experience on us. Skyler's good, everyone knows he's the best that Gladus has ever seen for quite some time. In my family, my older brother has always been the one going places…I've just been the other kid. I think it'd be awesome if we COULD win…but I got to tell you Kyle, the odds are pretty highly stacked against us."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Kyle put his fork and knife down and intensely looked at his friend. "Where is all this talk coming from? I thought you were going to be the best? I thought you wanted to be so good that the Elite Four changed their name to the Elite Five? Do you think someone who is on the elite four would be talking about the possibility of losing to their older brother? Heck no! They'd be coming up with a foolproof plan of victory, and then they'd have the confidence to take on anything that comes their way! I don't care how good Skyler and Cliff are, we can take them! Don't sell yourself short, man! Remember? Growlithe and I faced off against you and Machop a couple days ago, and it was by no means an easy fight! Skyler hasn't fought you guys before, and I for one think that if he thinks it's going to be another easy one hit KO victory, he's got a big surprise coming his way! I'm not giving up before the match starts, Zack…and I'd appreciate it if you didn't either!"

Zack smiled as he picked up his burger and took a bite into it with new confidence. "You know, you're right Kyle…Everyone knows how good Skyler is, but they haven't seen yet what I'm capable of! I don't know if we're BETTER than those guys, but we'll give it our best and see what happens!"

"That's the spirit!" Kyle said as he and Zack exchanged a high five as they finished their dinner.

* * *

Not long after dinner, Kyle and Zack walked down to the beach and reunited with Skyler and Cliff on the beach battle grounds, where a referee was waiting for them to start the Glades Pokemon Festival Tournament Finals. Kyle and Zack had won their last match with a sneaky strategy that involved Growlithe tackling Jigglypuff and shoving both of them out of the boundaries, allowing Machop to overpower Geodude with a type advantage. What the boys didn't know was that the Glades referee was the father of Kimberly, the challenger they had faced earlier with the Jigglypuff. He definitely was NOT a fan of how the match turned out, and was not happy with Kyle's slightly low strategic maneuver. Unfortunately for the new trainers, this father had the ability to change the rules and now knew the pokemon that all four competitors were using, so he decided to make a slight rule change for the final match. The sun was setting on the east as the referee spoke his new stipulation.

"In an effort to keep this match fair for the competitors and more exciting of a final round for our spectators to watch, I've decided to temporarily lift the stipulation in our Gladus Festival Pokemon Battle Rules guide that sets boundaries on our beach battles. What this means for you trainers is that there are no longer any places on the beach that is off limits for your battle. To win this match your pokemon must knock out the opposing team's pokemon. Is that clear?"

"Do you hear that, Zack?" Skyler said with a satisfied smirk as he held tightly to his poke ball that he was about to use, "That means that there is nowhere you and your friend can run to now that we can't get you! This match was practically MADE for a flying pokemon like mine!"

"Great…" Zack muttered to Kyle, "With a referee like that, we may as well be doing a 2 on 3 pokemon battle!"

"Don't worry about it." Kyle readied his pokeball, "we can still win!"

"Trainers are you ready!"

The four boys nodded intensely.

"The following match will be a 2 on 2 pokemon battle. Each trainer will be allowed one pokemon. The winners will be honored as this year's Gladus Pokemon Festival champions. And on your marks, get set…begin!"

The trainers summoned their pokemon.

"Peck them, Doduo!"

"Let's soar, Pidgeotto!"

"Bust em up, Machop!"

"Let's go, Growlithe!"

There was a small breeze that added suspense to the silence surrounding the four pokemon as the final match of this small tournament was about to take place. Skyler and Cliff decided to move first.

"Take flight Pidgeotto!"

"Doduo, start running!"

Upon their trainers orders, Pidgeotto began flapping its wings and took flight. It started to soar around the battle field in a circle. At the same time, Doduo started running at a very impressive speed. Growlithe and Machop were very surprised when Doduo passed in between them before either pokemon could even react.

"There's no sense in going for Pidgeotto right now since it's so high in the air!" Kyle spoke as he analyzed the movements of both pokemon. "Let's try to team up on Doduo!"

"That's if we can catch him, look at that thing!" Zack replied, "Cliff has certainly trained his pokemon to be a runner!"

"We'll see about that…" Kyle pointed to Doduo and spoke a command to his own pokemon. "Growlithe, chase after him, try to catch up!"

Growlithe began running towards Doduo, picking up speed rapidly. The puppy was moving exceptionally quickly, but the bird was just too fast. As Growlithe got closer, he began sweating from how much energy he was putting into his chase.

"Pidgeotto, use a Quick Attack on Growlithe now!" Skyler commanded, as his bird pokemon swooped down towards Kyle's Growlithe.

"Machop, use Karate Chop on Pidgeotto to block him from hitting Growlithe!" Zack ordered his pokemon, hoping that Machop would get there in time.

"I don't think so!" Cliff interjected, "Doduo, swing back around and peck Machop!"

Doduo sped in a circle, passed Growlithe who still tried to chase him and sunk his beak into the muscular fighting pokemon. At the same time Pidgeotto rapidly slashed Growlithe with its sharp talons and then flew back in the air and hovered around Doduo.

Both Kyle and Zack's pokemon were hurt, but it was clear that Growlithe had sustained much more damage as Pidgetto was a higher level then Doduo. Growlithe struggled to get back on his feet as Machop began standing up, though clenching his left shoulder where he was pecked harshly.

"Let's finish this, Cliff." Skyler said coldly, "These boys are out of their league…let's end them with a Cyclone attack, what do you say?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Cliff smiled maliciously. "Poor little Zack, you never really stood a chance…especially with that puny Machop you got! What a waste of a journey to Crimson Town you had…if they're giving out Machops and Growlithes there, I don't even know why you bothered leaving Gladus in the first place!"

"You hear that, Machop?" Zack spoke softly to his pokemon while glaring at Skyler and Cliff. "They think you're puny, let's show them otherwise! Nobody talks to US like that, right?"

"Pidgeotto, Gust!"

"Doduo, Sand Attack!"

The two bird pokemon began forming a cyclone. Zack looked in awe as the tornado of wind and dust begun to form. He glanced over to Kyle and Growlithe…the puppy was still struggling to get to its feet from the brutal attack from Pidgeotto. Zack knew if his opponents were able to release that combo attack in full power towards Machop and Growlithe it'd be over as quickly as it begun. He had to do something to prevent that from happening.

"Machop I want you to put everything you have in a Low Kick, lets destroy that cyclone!"

Machop nodded as it closed his eyes, flexed his muscles, and focused his power. The golden pokemon began to give a faint glow as it prepared for a great kick. After a few seconds of concentration Machop opened its eyes and lunged forward in determination to kick the cyclone. As the pokemon's foot flew into the cyclone he began feeling immense pain as he was trying to push the attack away or over power it.

The crowd was captivated by the impressive power of Machop. For a split second it looked like he was going to be able to kick the tornado away from himself and Growlithe. Skyler even began to get worried that his attack wouldn't be powerful enough. He pointed at the tornado and barked an order to his pokemon.

"Pidgeotto, put another Gust into that tornado. We need more power!"

The bird flapped its wings a couple of times to refuel the tornado. This was the edge it needed to start overpowering Machop. The muscular pokemon found himself in the middle of the wind and dirt attack and yelled out in pain as the cyclone was hurting him. After a minute of pain, Machop fell out of the cyclone and onto the ground, unconscious.

"Machop is unable to battle!" the referee called out, though everyone was greatly impressed with how strong the low level pokemon was and how much damage he had done to the great attack.

Meanwhile, Kyle stood behind Growlithe and coached him back to his feet. The puppy was injured from Pidgeotto's Quick Attack but not defeated. Kyle did his best to motivate his pokemon, passionate determination was radiating from his voice.

"Come on Growlithe, get up! We need you! Machop gave everything he had to weaken that cyclone…I know our Roar isn't perfect yet but I think we can get it to work…Come on get up, buddy, I know you can do it! These guys already embarrassed us once in Crimson Woods by leaving us in those net traps…remember you and Machop saved us from that? Well, we need you to save us again! We can't have Skyler and Cliff embarrassing us a second time. Come on Growlithe, you can do it!"

Growlithe pushed harder and made it to all fours. He barked obediently as he cringed in pain, but the fire pokemon was now ready for a second round.

"Alright Growlithe," Kyle ordered as they turned their attention to Pidgeotto, Doduo, and their trainers. "let's do it just like we practiced today! I want to see the loudest and most powerful roar you can muster. Growlithe, Roar attack now!"

As the cyclone was whirling towards Growlithe, the fire puppy let out a loud bark. The roar was much more trained then it had been earlier in the day, and visible sound waves surged from Growlithe's mouth as the powerful roar began to slowly slow down and push back the cyclone that Pidgeotto and Doduo had created.

"Doduo, throw in some more sand to make that thing more powerful!" Cliff ordered as he pointed at the cyclone that was beginning to move to his team's pokemon.

"Pidgeotto don't let him do all the work, give it some more Gust too!" Skyler commanded as well.

The cyclone regained some power and shifted direction as the two pokemon began putting more air and sand into it. Growlithe's lungs began to hurt as he continued his massive roar. It looked like that cyclone had finally become powerful enough to overpower Growlithe, and the crowd watched in amazement as it shifted directions once more.

"Come on Growlithe you can do it!" Kyle yelled.

"That attack is unbelievable!" Zack was stunned as he saw the tornado moving towards the little puppy. "Kyle, your Growlithe really trained hard and it's roar is impressive…but I think you may want to change strategies here…maybe Growlithe can still move out of the way to avoid maximum damage?"

"No we can do this!" Kyle was determined to beat this cyclone. "I know we can Growlithe…and YOU know we can too! Don't give up yet, give it everything you have!"

Growlithe increased the volume of his already loud bark and as his lungs began to give out, something amazing happened. Out of Growlithe's mouth embers began to fly out. The little fire balls ignited the sand within the tornado, and the cyclone within a matter of moments was now a swirling inferno. Skyler and Cliff looked onto the tornado in horror as the flaming whirlwind began moving towards their pokemon. Not only had Growlithe increased its roar, but it now had used the Ember attack and set the sand in the tornado on fire WHILE the swirling wind in was fueling the fire to make it stronger. The inferno whirlwind hit both pokemon and sucked them into the flames for a brief period of time and then spat them out, both birds were now completely unconscious.

"Pidgeotto and Doduo are unable to battle." The referee spoke as the bird trainers summoned back their pokemon in defeat with their heads sunken down. "Kyle Rogers and Zack Porter are this year's Glades Pokemon Festival Champions!"

"That was unbelievable!" Kyle yelled out as he run towards Growlithe and hugged the very tired pokemon who nuzzled into the boy's chest as its tail slowly wagged. "You taught yourself how to shoot ember out of your mouth IN that battle, I'm so proud of you Growlithe! And that roar was a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure."

As Kyle was hugging his pokemon, Zack summoned Machop back into his pokeball and spoke. "Hey don't get down on yourself, buddy…you were great too! You weakened that cyclone by a lot so that Growlithe could overpower it, our win was definitely a team victory, you just got the most beat up!"

"Nice job guys…" Skyler spoke, in a calm and serious tone as he walked over and shook his brother's hand. "We underestimated your skills as trainers and your pokemon's potential. In this match, WE were the rookies! If there ever is a next time, brother, I promise you'll have to work hard for the same outcome!"

"I'd love a rematch with either of you some day." Kyle spoke as he summoned Growlithe into his pokeball. "That was an amazing battle, and even though we had our differences from the beginning…you guys are great trainers!"

"We all have room for improvement, that's for sure." Cliff spoke as he began to walk away. "But next time we meet I promise the results will be different."

"We'll see about that…" Zack looked Skyler in the eye as he spoke and for the first time saw an emotion that he believed to be pride for his younger brother.

* * *

Kyle and Zack stuck around Gladus for the rest of the night. They were honored in the Pokemon Festival Parade and were able to sit on the biggest float and were honored by the applause of everyone in the town. They stayed out late and ate at a restaurant with Skyler, Cliff, and many of the their older pokemon trainer friends. The older trainers were able to give the two boys much needed advice on their upcoming journey and everyone at the restaurant enjoyed recounting the amazing battle they had witnessed that day.

The next day Kyle and Zack left early in the morning and left Gladus Town to continue their journey to Port Nile with the hopes of being able to sail to Pallet Town and officially begin their Journey to become the Best.


	6. Catching the Watch Thieves

**A word from the author: **_Not much to report here, I hope you enjoy today's chapter! Special thanks to **Sanguine-Sacrament and Generalhyna** for their support! (And a special thanks to everyone else who's supporting me, I probably can't name all of you just in this short shout out!) Let me know what you think of this chapter and have fun reading it! As always, while the trainers and plot of this story are original, I still don't own Pokemon :)_

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Catching the Watch Thieves**

Kyle and Zack left Gladus Town and began making their way up the hilly pass towards Grain Mountain. It wasn't an easy trek through the rough plains so in the late afternoon, the boys decided to take a break and sit down while they ate their lunch. The trainers, with the help of Machop, gathered firewood, and Growlithe helped create a campfire with his newly learned ember technique. Kyle then pulled out some canned meat from his backpack to put in a pan and over the fire. Conversation took place between the two boys as their dinner was cooking.

"Kyle I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." Zack spoke as he sat on an uncomfortable log. "That watch you have, you're always wearing it and it's really nice. I just was wondering why you took such a nice piece of jewelry with you on a Pokemon journey. Aren't you afraid you'll lose it?"

"This watch used to belong to my dad." Kyle took his watch off and stared at it reflectively, "He left our house when I was four…me and my mom never figured out why. This is kind of the only thing I have to remember him by, but I hope to meet up with him someday in my pokemon travels. I don't have any clue why he left, but my mom told me that he was a very good man and one of the best pokemon trainers out there. I have this fantasy, and I know it's silly…but one day, when I'm an expert trainer, I want to be able to face off against my dad and show him how great of a trainer I have become. How cool would it be to run into him on the pokemon journey somewhere? I don't know…you probably think it's a weird dream but…"

"No way man!" Zack interrupted his friend with a stern look and serious voice. "I think it's totally possible that we're run into your dad sometime on this trip, I mean we certainly have to travels a way to get to the Pokemon League. And when you make it in the great league tournament all the way to the finals of the Pokemon League, and lose to me of course…you're dad will have to be dying to meet his amazing pokemon trainer of a son if he hasn't already! Speaking of watches though, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"This thing hasn't worked in years." Kyle laughed as he pointed to his dead watch, "but that doesn't stop me from wearing it every day. Thanks man, they say my dad is one of the best trainers out there. I wish I knew why he left our home when I was four...it must have been important."

As the two boys spoke, suddenly there was a quick rustling in the leaves. As the bushes moved, Kyle and Zack's attention were drawn to the mysterious action. Suddenly, from behind them, a Mankey jumped out from the trees, grabbed the pan of cooking food and ran off. At the same time, out of the bush a dark green vine lashed out, grabbed Kyle's watch, and then quickly moved back into the bush. The boys jumped up in surprise.

"My watch!" Kyle exclaimed as he ran into the bushes. "Did you see that? Something took my watch!'

"And that Mankey stole my lunch!" Zack chased after Kyle, "They can't just do that, I'm hungry!"

The boys ran into the brush and started running through the weeds and grass chasing the two pokemon, who were masked in the shade of the trees. Kyle could definitely make out the figure of the Mankey, but the other pokemon was still a mystery to him. After chasing the pokemon for a couple of miles the two boys split up and attempted to corner the thieves. Kyle ran to the left and finally found a Bellsprout that now wore a shiny gold watch around its neck. He jumped in front of the fleeing pokemon that fearfully jumped back when she saw Kyle.

"Hey give me back my watch!" Kyle demanded. The bellsprout gave the trainer a mean look and shook its head defiantly. "Fine then…if that's how you want to play this game, I'll play it that way…Let's go Growlithe!"

Bellsprout let out a yelp of fear as the fire pokemon appeared out of a red surge of energy from Kyle's pokeball. Growlithe growled at Bellsprout, as he felt very territorial over Kyle and his property. Before Kyle could order Growlithe to attack Bellsprout, there was a rustling in the nearby bushes and the Mankey hopped out in front of Bellsprout and smacked Growlithe in the nose. The dog growled and shook off the impact of the hit. Bellsprout gave a sigh of relief as Mankey appeared, it was clear that the two were close.

"Oh so you want to take Bellsprout's place in this pokemon battle, eh?" Kyle asked, impressed at the loyalty these two pokemon showed each other. "Okay then…but that doesn't change the fact that SHE stole my watch, and YOU stole food from me and my friend…and I'M getting all of that back!"

Mankey got into a fighting kung fu pose as he licked the remainder of meat off his pig face. Kyle rolled his eyes in disappointment as he spoke. "Well, I guess I'll settle for just getting my watch back."

"Wait up Kyle!" Zack ran into the scene as he pulled out his pokeball holding Machop. "Let me handle this, will you? This Mankey looks like he wants to brawl a round or two, I think this would be a great fight for Machop! Also, I REALLY want to catch this little rascal. I don't know, despite the fact that he ate my lunch…there is something about his eyes that I relate to!"

Kyle thought about it, and then called Growlithe back and stepped aside to let his friend forward to take on the fighting pokemon. Bellsprout continued to stand behind her friend and give Kyle and Zack a dirty look. Zack stretched out his neck, the bones made a crack, as the boy was ready for a fight. He threw out his pokeball and summoned his partner. "Bust him up, Machop!"

Machop appeared and the two pokemon walked in a circle, each with their arms up defensively as they both were eager to throw down. Mankey begun the fight by running forward in a temper tantrum attempting to Scratch Machop.

"Quick, take a step back and counter attack with your Karate Chop, Machop!" Zack ordered, as the pokemon obeyed.

Mankey met Machop's Karate Chop with one if his own and the two pokemon glared at each other as they were locked in a muscle contest. As he worked hard to overpower the pig monkey pokemon, Machop could not help but let lose a little grin as he thrill of competition invigorated. Mankey let out a little gleeful chuckle as well as he pushed forward. The two continued to lock in a karate chop, until Zack threw out another command to his pokemon.

"Machop give him a nice low kick to the stomach!"

Machop quickly jumped back, twirled around, and smacked Mankey in the stomach with a low kick that sent the pokemon flying into a tree. After quickly recovering from the impact, Mankey got up and yelled loudly in anger at Machop. The pokemon's eyes started to glow red as its Rage begun to build. In his fury, Mankey ran towards Machop and began scratching him frantically. The muscular fighting pokemon put up his arms in defense and tried hard to block the heavy scratching. Machop closed his eyes and clinched his teeth as Mankey was pushing him backwards.

"Machop, give him another good punch in the stomach and GRAB him!"

The yellow pokemon's eyes opened in determination as he socked Mankey in the face and used his buff arms to give the pokemon a bear hug. Mankey flailed his arms and legs, trying to get out of the hold, but Machop's was holding him too tightly.

Zack gave a very satisfied smile as he encouraged his pokemon. "That's great Machop, hold him there for just a little longer as a throw this pokeball!"

Zack reached into his backpack's front pocket and pulled out a tiny pokeball that he enlarged and chucked at Mankey. The ball flew towards the pokemon, opened up, and Mankey quickly changed into red energy that was enclosed into the pokeball. The ball shook violently as the pokemon resisted capture. Zack gritted his teeth in suspense as the pokeball rotated two or three times. Finally, the red light on the center of the ball turned green, and Zack knew he had captured his first pokemon. He jumped up and let out a very loud "Woo Hoo!" as Machop flexed his muscles, celebrating his own personal victory over the fighting pokemon.

"I don't even care that he ate our lunch anymore!" Zack said cheerfully as he patted Machop up on the head, "We got a new pokemon friend Machop, and that's way cooler!"

Bellsprout now looked onto the ground very sad as she knew that Machop was no longer a fellow "Wild" pokemon like herself. Kyle saw that that pokemon clearly looked sad so he walked over and knelt down next to her and spoke.

"So you and Mankey are pretty close eh?" Kyle spoke softly as to not startle Bellsprout. "Well, the guy that caught him over there…I've only been traveling with him for a few days now, but in that short time he's become my best friend. Mankey's in good hands, I promise you that…but I wouldn't want someone to separate me from my best friend, and I'm sure you feel the same way. Let's make a deal Bellsprout, if you give me my watch back, you can join us on our journey."

Bellsprout gave Kyle an uncertain look as she considered his offer. Kyle nodded understanding the pokemon's lack of confidence. He took out his ball containing Growlithe and spoke again. "OK, I can understand you still don't really know whether you can trust us yet. Let me introduce to my other best friend, Growlithe here…he wasn't so sure about me at first as a trainer either…But maybe you can talk to him a bit…If Growlithe can trust me then surely you can too!"

Growlithe appeared from the pokeball and the two pokemon began to speak in their own pokemon language. (With sounded like a lot of a lot of barks from Growlithe and variations of the word "Bellsprout" from Bellsprout.) After a few short moments, the grass pokemon looked up at Kyle, nodded her head, and handed the trainer his watch back. Kyle smiled as he took the watch and clasped it back onto his right wrist. He reached behind his back, and took off one of the tiny pokeballs from his belt. He tossed it into the air, and Bellsprout's red energy went into the ball. There was no resistance, Bellsprout willingly joined Kyle as his first captured pokemon.

"Well, your capture wasn't as cool as mine…" Zack said as the boys continued their journey into the dark Grain Mountain, "but it's still pretty awesome that we got our first pokemon today!"

"Whatever!" Kyle rolled his eyes at Zack's competitive comment. "My pokemon willingly joined us, yours was beaten into the decision! Well, whoever had the cooler catch, it doesn't really matter…I think Bellsprout and Mankey will make great additions to our team!"

The boys loved their exciting new lives as Pokemon Trainers as they begun moving through the rocky area. However as they traversed through the cave, they were about to learn that being a trainer was not only exciting, but sometimes very dangerous too…


	7. Danger In Mt Grain

**A note from the author: **_Hi everyone, I'm super excited about this chapter! This is the first time we meet the "bad guys" of the story and we get to see a major character that hasn't made an appearance since chapter 1! Special thanks to all of you have read, reviewed, and Favorited my story, that means so much to me and it keeps me going as I write :) Anyway, though the characters and plot is original, I don't own Pokemon...if I did you'd be watching this on TV instead of reading it :)_

_I hope you love this chapter and I'd love any reviews or feedback you'd like to offer! Ciao!**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Danger in Mt. Grain**

Kyle and Zack moved through the dark cave within Mt. Grain with caution. Growlithe was summoned and standing point with embers in his mouth, creating a small light for the trainers to see their way through the small mountain pass. It was dark, quiet, and slightly scary.

"Once we get through here it's just a matter of getting a boat ticket onto the S.S Olivia and then we'll be enjoying smooth sailing to Pallet Town!" Zack's voice echoed in the hollow cave.

"I've heard great things about that cruise ship too." Kyle responded in the dimly lit room, thanks to Growlithe. "They're supposed to have great food and lots of entertainment. I know we haven't been on our journey long, but a little break like that will feel awesome!"

* * *

Meanwhile, three men stood outside of the cave at the entrance that Kyle and Zack went through recently. Two wore pitch black trench coats, sun glasses, and had dark sun glasses. The one standing in the middle had spiky silver hair, wore a white trench coat, and had black sun glasses as well. With the three men also stood a Mr. Mime, who wore a black T-shirt with a white skull and cross bones on it. Mr. Mime gave a stern look as he pushed both hands out towards the entrance of the cave. Supersonic waves radiated from his mind as he surveyed the mind. Mr. Mime looked at the man in white and _spoke_.

"I sense something in there." The pokemon had a very deep voice. "We should go inside and see if we can find a Shiny pokemon, I feel strongly that there is something in there."

"We've learned to always trust your senses, Mimic." The man in white spoke, "Since the start of Team Oblivion many years ago, the keen psychic senses of your kind, Mr. Mimes, has been a great asset to our little Pokemon stealing operation. We are very lucky to have the greatest Shiny Pokemon identifier with us today."

"Sucking up will get you nowhere with me, Shade." Mimic spoke cruelly as he walked into the cave, the three Team Oblivion members following him. "Of the Tenacious Ten, you are ranked 10 correct? That means you're the worst of the best, and in the end…you amount to nothing."

"Keep hanging around with me and you'll see how wrong you are." Shade spoke cruelly.

* * *

Kyle and Zack traveled further in the cave, being led by Growlithe lighting the way. The entered a large cavern that was much more open then the tight crevice that they had been traveling through for the past few hours. As they moved through the room, relieved to have some space, Growlithe quickly paused and started to sniff the air.

"What is it, boy?" Kyle asked as Growlithe looked around curiously. The puppy began to growl as it looked around trying to find the source of this vile scent.

"Kyle, I think Growlithe is picking up on something suspicious." Zack began surveying the room too, "A wild pokemon maybe? Wait…did you hear that? Footsteps! Are we being followed?"

Suddenly a bright rainbow light shot from behind Kyle and Zack and struck Growlithe. The light surrounded the puppy and entrapped it in a beautiful rainbow color. Growlithe barked frantically and tried to paw its way out of the light, but it was unbreakable.

"Growlithe!" Kyle cried out as he started punching the light, trying to free his pokemon. "What is going on?"

"There's no use trying to break that barrier." A voice came from the dark. "It's made especially for THEIR kind. Once a Shiny Pokemon is locked inside, there is no escape. Your Growlithe belongs to us now."

Kyle and Zack turned around to see Mimic, Shade, and their two lackeys appear from the shadows, each with very menacing grins. The two boys took a step back as the adults looked very mean, and not like people to trifle with.

"Who are you?" Kyle demanded, "And what have you done to Growlithe?"

"Your Growlithe is unique and we've taken him from you in the name of science." Shade spoke casually. "Team Oblivion exists for the betterment of human society, and it's through Shiny pokemon such as your Growlithe that we will achieve true human progression through their genetic code. I understand if you lack the maturity and wisdom to comprehend this reality but my comrades and I have no strife with the two of you, leave us to our work and we'll make this abduction as painless as possible."

"Leave you to your work?" Kyle repeated in disbelief of the audacity of this man. "You're trying to steal my pokemon! I'm not going to _leave you to your work_!"

"Trainers never choose to do it the easy way." Mimic shook his head as he spoke.

As the words came out of the pokemon's mouth, Zack exclaimed in disbelief. "Did that Pokemon just talk?"

"I'm a highly intelligent Mr. Mime." Mimic responded, "My kind has always been one of the more intelligent breeds of pokemon, but I've surpassed even them. Early in my life, when being captured by my master I quickly began learning how to speak in human language. So you see, my rarity among my kinds makes me superior not only to humans, but by pokemon standards as well."

"Whatever." Zack shrugged this anomaly off. "Talking Mr. Mime or not, I'm not going to let you guys steal my friend's pokemon. Bust them up, Machop!"

Machop formed from the red glow that was released from his pokeball. As the golden pokemon appeared he pointed at Mr. Mime and threw out some words in his own language. To this, Mr. Mime gave a chuckle and spoke. "Yes, I can see a brute like you WOULDN'T be impressed by my superior intellect…but that doesn't change the fact that you don't stand any more of a chance to me then that Growlithe does. What a good day for you, Shade…it turns out this is another special pokemon too. We ran into some exceptional trainers here, I can't sense pokemon when their in pokeballs, but this one reeks of the Shiny aura just like that red dog…and look at his skin color, even dumb oafs like you can see now his importance to our cause."

"Drop the condescending attitude and rude comments and just do your thing." Shade responded, "I don't need to take lip from a pokemon that models itself from a MIME, Mimic."

Machop lunged forward for a Karate Chop but Mimic simply raised his hands and created another prism of rainbow light and entrapped the fighting pokemon, just like he did to Growlithe. Now Machop angrily punched the barrier trying to break through, but to no avail.

"Tell me, do you two have any more special pokemon for us?" Shade asked with a menacing smile. "This has been quite a productive little trot through Mt. Grain, if I do say so myself."

"You can't do this!" Zack yelled in fury, "Give us back our pokemon, you freaks!"

"No can do." Mimic responded callously, "We are taking your friends for the greater good of humanity. Perhaps you'll thank us one day…Eh, probably not. Human younglings are so sentimental and hold grudges so easy, such humanitarian action is probably beyond the comprehension of the minds of two immature brats such as yourself."

Suddenly Mimic's rant was cut short, as he turned to look behind him, his ears twitching slightly. He spoke with astonishment. "Surely not…I'm sensing ONE MORE shiny pokemon, Shade! I've never bagged three in one go, how lucky we are today!"

Out of the shadows came a figure and his pokemon, neither of which Kyle and Zack had seen since the day they first met their pokemon. The man had dark sun glasses, a green trench coat, white T-shirt, and blue jeans. Levitating next to him was a purple Abra.

Kyle looked at the two recognizing them and spoke. "Draco…Man, I forgot about him, he left on a pokemon journey the same day as us."

"Draco…Lucian?" Mimic asked as he looked the boy up and down. "My you look just like your…hmm, don't tell me that you acquired a Shiny pokemon as well? Could you possibly be _willingly_ turning this pokemon into Team Oblivion? You know our cause much better then these two babies."

"Don't flatter yourself, Mimic." Draco spoke, his voice as cold, emotionless, and ruthless as ever. The pokemon had a look of surprise as his name was identified by the fourteen year old boy. "That's right, I know who you are and I know what Team Oblivion is up to. And to be honest, I don't really care. It has nothing to do with my quest to become Pokemon League Champion, destroy Raven Grayson, and restore true fear and power to the Lucian household. As it turns out, however, I have nabbed myself a Shiny pokemon. I know what you people do and I thought I'd put Abra to a test. When I saw those familiar rainbow lights from your Imprison attack, I knew this was my opportunity to see how powerful my pokemon really was. Abra, also a psychic pokemon, should be able to resist such trickery."

"You're a fool, boy!" Mimic snarled, as he got frusterated at Draco's disrespect. "If you know who I am then you know that my psychic powers are unparalleled! Observe!"

Mimic shot out another Imprison Ray towards Abra. The rainbow colors surrounded the psychic pokemon who remained calm and collected. The purple Abra waited a moment and then spoke, as his eyes turned bright blue for a split second. The rainbow barrier was instantly shattered around him, along with the barriers surrounding Growlithe and Machop. Kyle and Zack quickly returned their pokemon to their balls which kept them safe from Mimic's Imprison Ray. Mimic took a few steps back in fright as he looked at the powerful yet young Abra. He looked up at Shade and pointed at Draco as he spoke.

"My powers will not impact this pokemon like they do the others, clean up this mess!"

"Hmph, what a joke you turned out to be." Shade grumbled as he pulled out his pokeball and motioned his thugs to do the same. "It's time to sting, Beedrill."

As Shade summoned Beedrill, the other two trainers released their pokeballs. A Grimer and Koffing appeared. Next to the large flying bee that looked very ferocious. The three pokemon began to close in on the Abra, who remained calm, while giving a very hateful look to the poison pokemon.

"Let's lend a hand, Kyle." Zack said as he pulled Mankey's pokeball out of his backpack. "Give them no mercy, Mankey!"

"Grow, Bellsprout!" Kyle spoke as he threw his pokeball out as well. "Three on three, now that's much more even!"

"Don't insult me, you buffoons." Draco glared at his two rivals. "I have no need for your help."

"Come on, we were here first!" Zack's voice shun with frustration at Draco's ungratefulness. "Let us get in the action here and help teach these guys that trying to steal someone's pokemon is wrong!"

Draco said nothing but simply looked back at the opposing pokemon, resigning to his fate of having to work together with his "lesser peers" as he considered Kyle and Zack.

"End that Abra quickly!" The Koffing thug instructed his pokemon, "Use Self Destruct, now!"

"Quick, Mankey!" Zack instructed, "Use a High Jump Kick to send Koffing flying into Grimer before he blows up!"

Mankey obeyed and leapt high into the air and the poison pokemon let out a shriek of pain as the pig monkey's foot came crashing down onto his toxic head. Koffing flew backwards into Grimer, and the poison sludge pokemon's grimy body engulfed Koffing. Kyle seized the opportunity to do a combination attack with Zack and his Mankey.

"Bellsprout, use your Vine Whip to hold Grimer's sludge together over Koffing as he explodes!"

The shy female Bellsprout obeyed and sent out two vines that extended far towards the pokemon and wrapped around Grimer who was currently engulfing Koffing. The poison pokemon tried to break loose from the vine whip but was unsuccessful. Within seconds, within Grimer there was a massive explosion. The trainers saw nothing through the purple pokemon's sludge body, but knew it was an intense blast when Grimer collapsed unconscious. Koffing slowly rolled away from Grimer, unable to battle as well. The two Team Oblivion Grunts called back their pokemon and hung their heads in defeat.

"Alright you've shown you can take care of low level idiots." Draco spoke to Zack and Kyle, "now please let me battle alone, I prefer it that way. I don't need or want your help."

"Whatever you say," Zack spoke as he summoned Mankey back. (Kyle did the same with Bellsprout, both complimented their pokemons' team performance.) "You're welcome by the way…jerk!"

"I won't fall as easily as my two lackeys." Shade spoke as the idea of fierce competition fueled his mind. "Perhaps a three on one challenge would have been better in this case. I am a very experienced trainer and based on your age, I believe that the three of you are all new trainers. It's a pity really, you worked hard to save your pokemon and after I defeat you three I'll just be taking them away anyway. Oh well, that's life…get over it kid."

"Before we battle I have a question for you." Draco asked, disregarding Shade's taunts.

"What is it, boy? I suppose I can give some time for slight chit chat before I obliterate your Abra with my Beedrill."

"Based on your different dress then the standard Team Oblivion garments of a trench coat, sun glasses, and a shaved head…I am assuming you are a member of the Tenacious Ten…am I correct? If I am, please tell me what number you are."

"Very observant." Shade complimented the young trainer. "I am unsure about how you know so much about us, or how you know Mimic, but it is clear that you are an extraordinary boy. Very well, I'll put your little curiosity to easy."

Shade slowly took off his white trench coat revealing that he was wearing white pants and a dark blue sleeveless shirt. He pointed to his left arm showing the number ten. Upon seeing this number, Draco smiled and pulled out Abra's pokeball and summoned him back. The red haired boy spoke as he put Abra's pokeball on his belt and pulled out another one.

"Very well then…it's clear that Abra will be too much of a match for your Beedrill then, if you're only number 10. I was hoping to test my strength against a five or lower…but you're a joke it seems! Torment him, Ekans!"

Shade glared at his insulting opponent and spoke. "Do you think this is some kind of joke, kid? You're going to really regret that move. Beedrill, swiftly fly into Ekans and land a Poison Sting!"

"Dodge it, and counter attack with Wrap!" Draco calmly said as the Beedrill moved rapidly towards the snake pokemon.

Ekans jumped in the air and contorted its body in a way to completely dodge Beedrill's fast moving sting. He then wrapped himself around the bug pokemon and began squeezing very hard. Beedrill struggled to get free, but could not. It buzzed in pain as Ekans gave a sick snake smile of pleasure as he kept squeezing the bee.

"Come on, Beedrill you can get out of that hold!" Shade cried out, "Try harder!"

"It's no use," Draco said calmly as he pointed at Beedrill. "Ekans, finish off that pitiful bug with Bite!"

Ekans chomped hard into Beedrill and the bug buzzed loudly as venom entered his system from Ekans poisonous nature. Within seconds, the bee slowly landed on the ground and fainted. Shade said nothing as he summoned his Beedrill back into his pokeball. It was clear that this muscular man was fuming with rage.

"That was something else!" Zack whispered to Kyle, "Man, he's a jerk…but there's no denying that Draco has some real skill as a trainer."

"I don't understand how his Ekans can be that strong?" Kyle pondered as he too was astonished, "Draco started his journey the same time as us, and he couldn't have had Ekans for very long yet...The Beedrill didn't even stand a chance!"

"Shade, let's make our escape." Mimic spoke as he moved closer to Shade that gave him a dirty look of disgust towards that idea. "You've been bested and this isn't the time for us to strike back full force yet. I have other plans that need to be taken care of."

It was in this moment that the boys saw that even though Shade was a human and Mimic was a pokemon, it was in fact the pokemon that was in charge of this duo. Shade put away his second pokeball and glared at Draco. "This is far from over, boy. Your skill took me by surprise, it won't be like that next time."

"Enjoy those Shiny pokemon while you still can." Mimic spoke as his eyes became blue as he started to focus on his Teleport move, "Because we'll be coming back soon for them, I can promise you that, boys."

After that statement, Mimic, Shade, and their two defeated lackeys disappeared in a blue wisp. Draco ordered Ekans to return to his pokeball, and the trainer silently walked past Kyle and Zack without acknowledging their presence. Finally Kyle spoke as the red haired boy moved past them.

"Hey wait a minute!"

Draco simply looked back without giving the boys much of his attention or respect.

"What the heck was that?" Kyle demanded, "Who were those guys, what did they want with our pokemon, how do you know them, and WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?"

"Didn't they tell you at the beginning of the battle?" Draco's tone was snarky and apathetic. "They're Team Oblivion and they wanted to steal your pokemon, or haven't you noticed that our starters are special? You two better be careful if you value your Growlithe and Machop, Team Oblivion is an organization dedicated to unlocking the secrets within the Shiny pokemon to tap into their potential. I don't have time to explain such complex details to the likes of you two amateurs but let's just say that whatever it is that makes our pokemon look a bit different and have slightly more power is something within their genetic code that has fascinated scientists for years…and some are taking what others would consider very drastic measures to bring to light very fruitful results. The good news is, that I learned through that last battle that my pokemon have nothing to worry about from such brainless pirates. You two on the other hand…well, you best watch your backs."

"You didn't answer one of my questions." Kyle's tone was very serious and untrusting. "How do you know Team Oblivion?"

"That is my own business." Draco responded as he walked off. "Two weaklings like you would never understand, and I don't have time to tell you…or have you forgot that we need to be on the next ship to Pallet Town from Port Nile?"

"You keep calling us weaklings…" Zack snarled at Draco as he pulled out a pokeball, "but you really have never faced off against either one of us. What do you say we give it a go right here?"

"Pfft, Amateurs." Draco muttered as he walked into the darkness. "Another time perhaps, muscle head."

"I absolutely hate that guy…" Zack grumbled as he put his pokeball back in his backpack. "I don't care how good he is, he's a complete jerk!"

"He has a point…" Kyle said as he two left the cave, "We really need to rush to make the S.S Olivia!"


	8. Port Nile Pokemon Olympics

**A word from the Author: **_Hello again everyone! It took me a bit to update my story because I've been busy as of late, but here chapter 8 is and it's a reasonably long one...so I hope it was worth the wait! If this story was a "season" of a TV show, the next two chapters would be like the "season finale". That's right folks, at the end of Chapter 10 our boys will be at Pallet Town and ready to begin the traditional Pokemon Journey that we all know and love! _

_Again, thanks so much to those who read my story and a special thanks to reviewers like Sanguine-Sacrament! It's always really cool to hear about what you guys think of the story, so please don't be shy! A gentle reminder that i don't own Pokemon and all though this is a story with OC's, the concept of Pokemon is definitely not mine...otherwise you'd be watching this story on Cartoon Network instead of reading it on Fanfiction...okay, that's enough from me...enjoy chapter 8!_**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Port Nile Pokemon Olympics**

Kyle and Zack made their way out of Mt. Grain and into the port city of Nile, where they were ready to board the S.S Olivia to sail to Pallet Town. Neither boy had left the island before, so this was a very exciting moment for them as they prepared to purchase their ticket to the homeland of the Kanto region. Kyle and Zack entered Port Nile in the early morning and quickly made their wait to the boatyard to receive their tickets.

"Please give us two tickets for the S.S Olivia!" Kyle asked the man working the counter in the port.

"I'm so sorry." The man replied with a grim look. "We just sold our last ticket about an hour ago to a boy about your all's age."

"Figures…" Zack muttered under his breath, "Draco got the last ticket! How the heck is that guy always ahead of us, anyway?"

"Surely there is something we can do…" Kyle tried to reason with the seaman, "We HAVE to get on that boat! We're starting our journey to become Pokemon Masters and need to reach Pallet Town to begin our journey to beat all 8 gym leaders to make it to the Pokemon League. If we don't get onto the S.S Olivia, then we can't go to Pallet Town."

"I'm sorry but there is just nothing I can do for you guys." The man shoot his head, "We are all sold out of tickets. I really wish I could help, but I can't. Sorry boys, the next trip will be in a couple of weeks, perhaps you can come back then!"

Kyle and Zack left the port disappointed and went to Nile's town square and sat at the monument to try to figure out what to do. As they watched people travel around the busy town Zack couldn't help but complain.

"How the heck are we going to get to Pallet Town now? We NEED to get on that ship, today! There's nothing left for us here on Grain Island now, our journey begins on mainland Kanto!"

"It's just not fair…if we weren't held up in Mt. Grain by those pokemon thieves…" Kyle's rant was cut off by a commotion happening not too far from the two boys. They looked to the left to see a boy not to much older than them being tormented by three other boys, his same age.

The boy being pushed around had sleek brown hair that was well kept and he wore a tucked in white button down shirt with nice black pants. He had thick black rimmed glasses on and he stepped away nervously from the other boys. The 16 year old kid in the middle was clearly the leader with spiky black hair and a black leather jacket and blue jeans. His friends each wore red leather jackets and red caps on their heads, each smiling as their ringleader taunted the other boy.

"What's a matter Manson, you look more cowardly then usual today?" The ringleader taunted, "Why not run home to Mommy and cry a bit, if you're so down, eh baby?"

"I'm not a baby…" Manson replied, his voice quivering with fear. "Please, just leave me alone Clyde…I don't…I don't want any trouble."

"Maybe you're down cause you know I'm going to tear you apart in the Pokemon Olympics again this year, eh big boy?"

"That's…that's not true!" Manson's eyes had a hint of determination as he spoke back.

"Really then, how bout we have a little friendly pokemon battle, eh big boy? Just between buddies, eh?" Clyde eyes flared with competiton as he took out a pokeball and enlarged it. "Reach for the stars, Krabby!"

Clyde threw the ball and out of the red energy came a red Krabby that looked very tough. It pinched its pincers together and let out a competitive cry as it looked around awaiting a challenger. Manson very timidly took out his Pokeball and threw it as he spoke.

"Go Psyduck!" Manson's voice stammered. As the ball ignited in its red glow, a very timid Psyduck appeared .

The yellow duck pokemon's eyes got large with fright as he looked across the street to see a mean glare coming from Clyde's Krabby. The red crab's owner smiled with negative intent as he called out to his pals.

"Actually you know what guys? Let's teach this Psyduck AND Manson exactly why he can't mess with us, the Port Nile Dream Team! In case you DID think you stood a chance in the Pokemon Olympics with that weak pokemon, let's show you how wrong you are! Bring out your pokemon, boys!"

The two trainers in red caps threw out their pokeballs and a Nidorina and Lickitung appeared. The three pokemon crept closer to the terrified Psyduck, each with very cruel smiles on their face as they intimated the duck. Zack and Kyle both exchanged disgusted looks regarding the bullies and quickly rushed over to the other side of the street and threw Pokeballs out, summoning Mankey and Growlithe.

"3 on 1 seems like horrible odds to me." Zack said as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's even things up a little bit, eh Kyle?"

"You bet!" Kyle said with a competitive smile. "Just so you boys know, you're not just looking at the future Pokemon League Champ and Number One Contender BUT we're also this year's Gladus Pokemon Tournament champions. We're expert trainers, and if you think you can pick on this guy and his Psyduck…you'll have to go through us first!"

Growlithe growled as Mankey glared at his opponents, waiting for the first daring one to run towards him so the pig monkey could start beating something up. The opposing pokemon also geared up for a fight, as Psyduck continued to cower, now stepping backwards trying to stay behind the Growlithe and Mankey.

"You're pokemon doesn't seem like it can do much against these guys." Zack spoke directly at Manson, who was very shy and could barely keep eye contact with the athletic boy. "Eh, whatever…we don't need him."

Clyde thought for a moment and then raised his hand and his friends looked at him questionably. The trainer with spiky black hair and a black leather jacket spoke. "Eh, these guys aren't worth our time…let's go get ready for the Olympics, we don't need to waste energy taking on these lowlifes. But listen well, whoever the heck you two are…get in my way again and I'll make you regret it!"

The bullies called back their pokemon and left the town square leaving Zack and Kyle with the very nervous Manson. As Manson went to pat his Psyduck on the head and try to comfort him, the other boys summoned back their pokemon.

"Your friends kind of seem like jerks, man." Kyle spoke to Manson as he shook his head in disapproval.

"They're NOT my friends." Manson muttered as Psyduck hugged him, feeling safe in his trainer's arms.

"Then why didn't you stand up to them?" Zack asked, surprised at the lack of backbone in this guy. "Come on, you can't let punks like that talk to you like that. I mean, do you WANT to get pushed around like that?"

"Of course not!" Manson exclaimed, his eyes showing frusteration. But then he looked down in timid disappointment and spoke again. "But...they're the stars of this town. They have strong pokemon and their the favored ones to win the Pokemon Olympics. Sadly, I just have my Psyduck. I've spent weeks trying to catch other pokemon to train for our town's Olympics that are happening today…but I just haven't had any luck…"

Manson got up, looked at the trainers and thought for a moment. He then spoke with more excitement in his voice. "Hey, I think I have an idea! You guys seem pretty tough, and I bet you're pokemon are just as tough! If you're not doing anything, want to enter the Nile Olympics with me? I was going to have Psyduck enter all the competitions, but he's really only good at swimming…and he's not even that confident in THAT…what am I saying, two cool guys like you probably don't want to hang out with a loser like me…"

Zack and Kyle exchanged looks. Zack gave Kyle that look which said, "Can we help this guy?" and Kyle returned with a shrug that basically said "Eh, whatever." Zack moved closer to Manson and put his hand on his shoulder.

"We'd love to enter the Pokemon Olympics with you. We were going to leave this island on the S.S Olivia to start our Pokemon journey in Pallet Town…but the ship's tickets are all sold out so as it turns out, we'll be hanging here for a while…so Kyle and I have some time to kill, so why not win some Nile Olympics? One thing though, Manson…me and Kyle only hang out with winners, so if you're going to be on OUR team, you have to be a winner, can you do that?"

"You bet!" Manson spoke up with cheer in his tone as he smiled at his two new friends. "I won't let you down, I promise!"

"That's the spirit!" Kyle said as he put his hand on Manson's other shoulder. "And another thing, dude…watch your nervous and scared attitude around Psyduck. We have to keep a strong disposition around our Pokemon, they look at us for strength! If they see you get scared and wimpy, then your pokemon are going to act scared and wimpy. If your Psyduck is going to win this thing with us, he's going to need to have more confidence, can you do that Manson?"

The boy nodded as he led the other trainers to the spot where the Nile Pokemon Olympics were taking place, not too far from the town square. When Kyle, Zack, and Manson got to the arena, there was a large crowd waiting for them from all over the town. The boys were cheered on as the crowd appreciated the new competitors. When Clyde and his cronies appeared there were louder cheers. As it turns out, as Manson was telling Kyle and Zack, nobody else entered the Olympics this year because they just figured Clyde and his buddies would win again.

"Well then that explains why he's being such a jerk to you." Zack said with a shrug, "Clyde's afraid that you'll smoke him in this competition. Don't let him intimidate you, Manson…you can win this thing...we are winners after all!"

"Okay…" Manson spoke, his nervousness returning as Clyde gave him the stink eye as the competitors prepared to enter the Olympics.

The first round was a weight lifting competition. Zack stepped up first to take on one of Clyde's thugs, who brought out his Nidorina. The Nidorina grunted as it looked at the large rock it was going to have to push across the finish line.

Zack thought for a moment about his pokemon and reached the obvious conclusion, and called Machop to the field. The muscular pokemon flexed and cried out in excitement as the crowd cheered for him and admired his yellow skin coat. The judge fired his gun, and the two pokemon started to push their large rocks towards the finish line on the dirt portion of the arena.

It was a close match, and as fierce as Nidorina was, Machop barely won by getting his boulder to the other side of the rugged arena first. The referee raised the pokemon's arm in victory as the crowd cheered for the impressive pokemon. Machop breathed heavily from the hard work as he smiled to his trainer who stood on the sidelines applauding and cheering his pokemon on.

The next completion was the high jump in a grassier area of the arena. Kyle faced off against the other nameless pal of Clyde's. Kyle wasn't sure at first how'd he win this completion, as Growlithe wasn't much of a jumper. The blonde boy then thought of a potential strategy, and summoned his Bellsprout. When the grass pokemon appeared, she looked at the length it was expected to jump and then looked back at Kyle with nervous confusion.

"I know this is a little different for you…" Kyle bent over and whispered to his Bellsprout as he put his hand on her vine-y neck. "When it's your turn to jump what I want you to is get a running start and then use Vine Whip to hop from the ground, you should be able to get some great distance. I believe in you Bellsprout, do your best!"

Bellsprout nodded shyly as Kyle smiled at her and patted his pokemon on the head. He really wanted to help Bellsprout have some confidence in herself, just like he wanted to help Manson with the same problem.

Bellsprout was allowed to go first, and when the referee shot the gun the pokemon ran quickly with her little vine legs and then extended her vines to do a Vine Whip that served as a pole for pole vaulting. The crowd cheered in adoration as Bellsprout flew through the air and went 10 feet, which everyone was very impressed with. Bellsprout jumped in joy as she was proud of her jump. Kyle ran over and gave his pokemon a high five…or a high vine…in celebration.

Bellsprout's opponent, Lickitung went next. Sadly, the pokemon was able to do a very impressive 12 feet jump, marking him the victor. Even though everyone cheered louder for Lickitung, Kyle told Bellsprout that she was his champion because of her impressive jump, as he returned the pokemon to the pokeball.

The final event which would decide the winners of the Port Nile Pokemon Olympics was a swimming contest between Clyde's Krabby and Manson's Psyduck. As the two summoned their pokemon into the water section of the arena Clyde yelled from across the pool to his rival.

"Hey Baby, you might as well give up now! Your new little friends were pretty impressive and got you far in this competition…but come on, we both know that your wimpy Psyduck has no chance against Krabby. I mean, seriously! Look at it waddling around in the water there like a little wimp!" Clyde laughed as he insulted Manson and Psyduck.

Manson looked down as he could not think of the right words to speak. He then heard the voice of his friends, and turned to see Zack and Kyle running towards him from their perspective sides of the arena.

"Hey Manson, don't take that from that jerk!" Zack said as he and Kyle ran behind their friend. "We know you can win this, and you gotta believe that too!"

"And tell your Psyduck he's not weak!" Kyle spoke between breaths as stopped running when he got next to the other two boys. "Look at him! He's already lost this race in his mind, your pokemon will do better if he knows that YOU know he's not a loser!"

Manson looked up with determination and glared at Clyde as he spoke. "I'm NOT a Baby, and Psyduck's not a wimp! Come on Psyduck, we can beat these guys I just know it! Do your best! I know you can win!"

"Keep dreaming." Clyde gave a confident and malicious smile. "Well, it's time I make this dream of yours a nightmare! You're going down, Manson! You're just as pathetic as that sorry Psyduck!"

"We'll see about that…" Manson spoke with confidence now, "Why don't you see how we do on this race before you make fun of my pokemon…I'd hate for you have to look like a fool when we beat you to the finish line!"

The referee silenced their argument with his gun shot and both water Pokemon took off in the pool with great speed. Krabby at first seemed like he had a great lead as Psyduck began getting tired and have a distressed look in his eyes. Manson looked in fright as his Pokemon was tiring. Kyle leaned in close to Manson and spoke quietly but assertively.

"Come on man, your pokemon's out there swimming it's head off to save your pride…the least you can do is cheer it on!"

"You can do it Psyduck!" Manson responded to Kyle's advice and yelled loud for his pokemon. "Come on, just a little longer, give it your best! I know you can do this!"

Psyduck's head twitched as he recognized the voice of his trainer. This encouragement gave the duck a second wind and Psyduck sped up in the pool with new found energy, catching up, and then surpassing Krabby. Clyde looked in shock as his opponent took the lead. He yelled loudly at his pokemon.

"Don't let him beat you, Krabby! Swim faster!" Clyde demanded frantically.

The red crab swam faster and began to catch up, but it was too little too late. Psyduck reached the finish line a second before Krabby did. The arena erupted in cheers for Psyduck and Manson as the underdog had pulled an Olympic victory. Manson rushed over and scooped his pokemon out of the water, twirled him around, and gave him a tight hug. Psyduck quacked in confusion and surprise as he was being hurled around, and then gave a tired smile as he realized that this was his trainer's way of celebration.

Meanwhile Clyde hung his head in defeat as he called back Krabby. He walked past Kyle and Zack as he left the arena in silence. Zack couldn't resist throwing in a final job as the cruel trainer left. "Yeah that's what I thought, Clyde…keep walking! Now everyone knows the true champs are Manson and Psyduck. Don't mess with him again or he may have his Psyduck whip you up good again!"

* * *

The Port Nile Olympics ended with each of the boys' pokemon getting a medal for being on the winning team. Upon leaving the arena, Kyle and Zack noticed the S.S Olivia preparing to depart and were reminded of the disappointing fact that they could not board today's trip to Pallet Town. The trainers' despression was interrupted with a very excited Manson running down the street calling their name. Psyduck waddled as fast as he could behind his trainer who held two tickets in his hand as he rushed down the street, almost tripping over his own feet.

"Kyle! Zack! I have such exciting news! After the ceremony my parents met me to congratulate us on the victory and were asking about my new friends that helped us win. I told them about you guys and how you were two trainers who were on your way to Pallet Town but couldn't get tickets to the S.S Olivia and, guess what!? They had already bought tickets to the ship as a anniversary cruise! My dad felt bad that you guys just missed getting tickets by a little bit so as a method of thanking you for helping me in the Olympics, my parents want you to have these two tickets to the S.S Olivia!"

Kyle took the tickets and was beside himself. What great luck! He tried to come up with the right words to thank Manson and his parents. "Manson…I mean, I don't know what to say…."

"Well then don't say anything!" Zack interrupted as he grabbed Kyle's arm and started to pull him down the street to the S.S Olivia that was setting sail very shortly. The brown haired boy yelled back as the two boys ran towards the ship. "Thanks so much Manson! It was great meeting you and the Olympics were fun, I'm sure we'll meet again sometime!"

Manson and Psyduck waved at their new friends as the two Pokemon Trainers just barely made it onto the S.S Olivia as it departed Port Nile to Pallet Town. As the boat moved away from the Port, Manson thought to himself.

"_Those guys are going to accomplish great things! They're going to become Pokemon League Legends one day and I'll be able to tell everyone that they are my friends!"_


	9. Trouble on the SS Olivia Part I

**Chapter 9**

**Trouble on the S.S Olivia Part I**

Not far from the coast near Port Nile a small black ship with several men with black trench coats, shaved heads, and sun glasses stood by for orders from their leading officer. At the head of the small vessel a man with long flowing platinum blonde hair, and a white trench coat, looked through binoculars and caught glimpse of the S.S Olivia.

"Word from the higher ups is that there is not one but THREE shiny pokemon aboard that vessel." The man's voice was calm, confident, and slightly high. "We should be able to infiltrate the S.S Olivia easily, and since it we'll be on water…there will be no place for any of the pokemon to run."

"Sir, how do you intend on capturing these rare pokemon?" An officer of Team Oblivion asked their current leader.

The man in a white trench coat threw a black pokeball out an a Mr. Mime appeared with a distant look as it pointed to the S.S Olivia and murmured to itself. The ninth rank in the Tenacious Ten cracked a malicious smile as he spoke. "The boss has gifted each of us on the Tenacious Ten with a Mr. Mime. Apparently these pokemon have the ability to sense Shinys when nearby…how useful! It's like a GPS to our fortune…Ready yourself boys, we'll be boarding that vessel very soon for a surprise visit to their warm little party!"

-0-0-

Kyle and Zack flashed their S.S Olivia ticket to the crewman as they ran aboard the ship right before it took off. Once inside, the two boys gave a great sigh of relief. They had finally made it onto the cruise ship to Pallet Town. It had been a journey to get to this point from Crimson Town, and both trainers knew they had quite the journey ahead of them, but it was nice to be able to have this time to relax and enjoy the cruise.

The S.S Olivia was quite a sight inside the large white ship. It was very luxurious with wonderful décor and plenty of the best food you can think of. In every single great room Kyle and Zack were served as kings by the S.S Olivia staff. The captain encouraged everyone on the ship to cut loose, enjoy themselves, and even allow their pokemon a break of their pokeballs to enjoy the fine experience as well. Wanting their pokemon to have a break too, Kyle and Zack let Growlithe, Bellsprout, Machop, and Mankey out as well to have fun and enjoy the free pokemon food.

It wasn't long till gossip within the vessel arose about pokemon battles that were happening on the high deck of the S.S Olivia. These conversations particularly captured Kyle and Zack's attention because for these two trainers, there was nothing more exciting then pokemon battles. Zack and Kyle raised an eyebrow to each other in curiosity as they began to hear that there was one trainer that seemed to keep winning his matches and seemed to be undefeated.

"What about it, Growlithe?" Kyle said as he got up from his very comfortable chair, "Want to go check out this supposedly undefeated trainer?"

Growlithe barked in excitement as the other pokemon looked at Kyle and Zack with much excitement. They followed their trainers up the many staircases to the top of the ship where a large crowd had been gathered to watch as many trainers tried their best to take on this supposedly unbeatable trainer. Zack and Kyle pushed through the crowd to see a Butterfree hit the ground next to them, unconscious. Not long after it was deemed unable to fight, the trainer called back the Butterfree. Kyle and Zack looked across the deck to see Draco Lucian with a male Nidoran shrugging of his weak competiton as he begun to walk away, not at all impressed with any of the battles he had just won.

"Does anyone else want to try to beat this kid?" Someone from the crowd asked, "His skill level is unreal! A real natural!"

Growlithe anxiously looked at Kyle, showing his ambition to enter the battle and the trainer nodded with a smile, sharing the ambition to battle Draco for the first time. Before Kyle could step up and speak, Zack jumped in front of him and yelled out to grab the crowd's attention.

"I will!" Zack said as he pushed to the center of the deck, "I want to try on this trainer, and show you all he's not unbeatable."

Draco heard the familiar voice and sighed heavily as he turned around and looked at Zack and Kyle.

"Well, apparently they'll let _anybody _on this cruise ship nowadays." Lucian spoke, his voice as cold as a snowstorm. "I heard stories of how the S.S Olivia was such a elegant cruise vessel that rivaled even the S.S Anne in its prime…but it's clear to me that they'll let even the smelliest trash board the vessel. And to think, I bought myself four tickets to try to prevent you two from boarding the same ride as me…They assured me that those were the last four tickets, but somehow…here you stand."

"You jerk!" Kyle waved his fist in anger at Draco, "It was just by a fluke that we got tickets because you decided to just buy out the rest of them? Man…I'd love to really teach you a thing or two."

"Not today…" Zack said as he pulled out a pokeball, "Today I get to teach Draco that he's not as untouchable as he thinks he is. Or have you forgotten that the three of us started our journey on the same day? You're no better than either me or Kyle, Draco! And I'm tired of your condescending attitude. You're going to learn right here and right now how _average_ you really are!"

Draco simply shook his head in distaste to Zack's taunts. The crowd watched in anticipation as the young trainer responded. "I've told you two before. Even though we started on the same day, I'm far superior to anything you could hope to be. Your listening skills are clearly as underdeveloped as your pokemon training abilities…well, I suppose this calls for a lesson through harsher methods. If it's a battle you want, Porter…I suppose I'll oblige."

"Good!" Zack said with a competitive smile. Excitement overtook the trainer as he finally was able to have this match he had been craving for since their encounter in Mt. Grain. "Why don't you get serious and call out your Abra, I know he's you're strongest!"

"Please!" Draco waved his hand in disregard to his rival. "This newly caught Nidoran is stronger then anything you could possibly have, even your prized Machop. He'll be plenty for a weakling like you. I rather enjoy his hostile nature; he seems to find delight in causing enemy pokemon great pain."

"Fine then!" Zack turned to the crowd and spoke to his Mankey "Pick whatever pokemon you want, it doesn't make a difference, you're going down, Draco! Give him no mercy, Mankey!"

Mankey ran forward and into the battle as flailed its arms and legs in zeal for a battle. Zack smiled as he saw that his pokemon was ready for a battle too. Back in the crowd Growlithe and Kyle both gritted their teeth in tension as they watched the battle begin to start. Kyle knew that Mankey and Zack were good, but he had never seen anything like what he had witnessed when he last watched Draco battle.

"So these two kids know each other, eh?" Someone behind Kyle commented. "This will be an exciting fight, for sure!"

"No way!" Another person retorted, "That kid Draco is unreal, and so is his Nidoran! They'll tear Mankey apart and send that boy home crying to his mommy!"

"Alright Mankey, let's show that Nidoran who's boss!" Zack called out as he pointed towards the opposing pokemon. "Use leer, now, scare him stiff!"

Mankey stared at Nidoran and growled attempting to intimidate the pokemon. Nidoran simply stared back attempting to use leer as well. Draco finally called out to his pokemon and gave him a command.

"The staring is getting you nowhere, Nidoran…use horn attack now!"

The purple poison pin pokemon lunged toward Mankey and stabbed him in the stomach with a hard attack. Mankey cried out in pain as he hit the ground and struggled to recover from the vicious blow. Kyle heard a person near him speak as Mankey shut his eyes tightly in pain.

"That's one of the cruelest horn attacks I've seen!" the person told a friend, "so far most the pokemon that Lucian kid has faced haven't gotten up from it. From the looks of it, this Mankey is done!"

"Come on Mankey…" Zack ran behind Mankey and encouraged him softly. "Everyone here is expecting you to fail because they think Draco and his Nidoran are unbeatable…let's prove him wrong, you and me! What do you say? I know you have more fight in you, man!"

Mankey grunted as he slowly got up and shook the pain as he fiercely looked at Nidoran. Draco gave an annoyed and cocky grunt as the pig monkey rose to his feet. The red headed trainer pointed to Mankey and gave another order his pokemon.

"Finish that thing off with another horn attack, Nidoran…don't hold back this time!"

Nidoran jumped forward with all of his speed and strength towards Mankey. This time Zack spoke too and gave an order to his pokemon.

"Mankey, dodge it and give Nidoran a low kick!"

Mankey obeyed and moved to the side and smacked the tiny purple creature with his right foot. Nidoran grunted in pain as he jumped backwards. The two pokemon glared at each other as the crowd cheered for this fight. Both pokemon were hurt, but both had no intention of giving up.

"We're not done yet, Mankey!" Zack told his pokemon as he stared at Draco who was gritting his teeth. It was clear his rival trainer was taking this match just as serious as the boy from Gladus was. "Nidoran is still standing which means the match isn't over."

Mankey's concentration began to waver a bit and it shook his head trying to focus. Then the pokemon staggered a bit, and fell to the ground. Draco cracked a satisfied smile as the pokemon hit the ground.

"It looks like your pokemon knows when to quit, Porter…perhaps you should learn to do the same!"

"No way!" Zack cried out to Mankey who was twitching weakly. "We're not done yet Mankey, come on…get up!"

Everyone looked at the fallen pokemon, hoping to see it rise to his feet. Suddenly everyone's attention was instantly stolen from the match as three torpedos hit the ship on the level directly under them. The explosion caused the ship to rumble, and many people and their pokemon fell in to the water. As the commotion began to arise as terrified civilians rushed around panicing from the mass chaos, Team Oblivion members began shooting hooks onto the S.S Olivia and boarding the ship from their own.

Kyle looked in horror as Team Oblivion members began terrorizing the boat in search for shiny pokemon. Kyle ordered Growlithe to use ember on the Team Oblivion thugs and their pokemon to knock them off the edge of the ship, saving innocent people.

Zack saw a man in a white trench coat jump onto the boat directly behind Kyle, and following him was a Mr. Mime. Recalling the events from Mt. Grain, Zack very quickly summoned his Machop back into his pokeball and yelled out at his friend.

"Kyle call your Growlithe back, NOW!"

Kyle grabbed his pokeball and almost hit the button to recall Growlithe, but the man with long almost silver hair and deep blue eyes spoke with a hansome smile.

"Not so fast there, kiddo! Mr. Mime, use Imprison Ray now!"

A rainbow beam shot from a Mr. Mime who was nearby and trapped Growlithe in the familiar and terrifying barrier. Kyle cried out as he began beating the indestructible barrier that held his special red Growlithe.

"One down, two to go." The leading officer of Team Oblivion yelled out as he began walking around the ship that his comrades were terrorizing. He pushed an elderly gentleman off the boat and spoke again in a loud voice for everyone to hear. "Now allow me to capture the remaining two Shiny pokemon on this boat or things are going to get real nasty, real quick!"

"Crap…" Zack looked down at his unconscious Mankey and thought about his only other pokemon being Machop. "If I call him out he'll get captured too…"

"What an annoying turn of events." Draco said with a sigh looking at the terror around him. "It seems these Team Oblivion thugs have really made a wreckage of this boat. If they keep it up we'll never get to Pallet Town, and that just won't do…Well Zack, the only good thing I can think of is that may come from all this is that maybe these fools will give my pokemon more of a workout then you did. Nidoran, let's get to work!"

* * *

**A Note from the Author: **_Phew! I hope you got as excited reading this chapter as I got writing it! Things are getting really tense on the S.S Olivia with Team Oblivion showing up to cause trouble, Growlithe imprisoned, Mankey down, and the vessel struggling to stay level after being bombed. How will our heroes get out of this mess? Find out in the next chapter and the season finale of the Grain Island Arc! _

_I meant to use these first ten chapters as an intro to see if readers wanted me to continue the story...I will probably continue because I enjoy writing it, but your feedback is very important to me! Don't forget to throw trainer ideas my way if you want them to have an appearance in my story at some point. Kyle and Zack always need opponents to battle! Until next time, Ciao!_**  
**


	10. Trouble on the SS Olivia Part II

**A Note From the Author: **_Well, here it is folks...the long awaited Chapter 10! This would be equivalent to the "season finale" of the Grain Island intro story arc of my story...the idea was to do 10 chapters and see how well received this story was...and my goodness, you guys have been AWESOME! So, expect more of Pokemon: The Journey to be the Best to come! For now, I hope you love this climatic chapter!_

_A special thanks to everyone who reads and reviews my story, your encouragement and advice is always much appreciated. I want to make a special shout out to **Number-1-Tribute**, who is writing a great piece called Kanto which is about a trainer named Torick who is journeying to the Pokemon League. A) I'd recommend reading the story because its new, but so far shows great potential and B) If you like Kyle Rogers, there is a chance he may be making an appearance in the story...so that's exciting! Anyway, I'll leave you to enjoy Chapter 10 and the epic conclusion of Kyle and Zack's journey off Grain Island. Ciao!_**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Trouble of the S.S Olivia Part II**

Total pandemonium had broken out on the S.S Olivia cruise ship after the appearance of Team Oblivion and number 9 of the Tenacious Ten, who had yet to reveal himself. The man flipped his long platinum blonde hair after he jumped onto a large crate and spoke to the crowd of panicked citizens, along with many trainers including Zack, Kyle, and Draco.

"Listen up, all you terrified people." The officer of Team Oblivion spoke calmly but authoritatively. "My name is Valnor, I am number 9 of the Tenacious Ten. It's all very simple really. Thanks to this Mr. Mime, we know that there are three Shiny pokemon aboard this vessel…We want to take them and then we'll be on our way. The longer I get stay here and enjoy this little cruise, the more destructive my friends and their pokemon will be. So if you happen to be lucky enough to be a proud owner of a Shiny pokemon, kindly please reveal it so Team Oblivion can take it off your hands."

"So many low level pokemon…" Draco looked around the cruise ship and watched as Team Oblivion thugs used their numerous Grimers, Koffings, and Zubats to terrorize people and their pokemon. "Nidoran, start taking out the trash, and Ekans…come out and give him a hand!"

Draco unleashed his pokemon who started to attacking Team Oblivion trainers and their pokemon. Nidoran would run and smack his adversaries off the ship with his Horn Attack and then knock another foe down with double kick. Meanwhile Ekans was launching a barrage of thin purple energy needles, an attack which was known to even the most basic trainers as Poison Sting.

While Draco's pokemon fought off Team Oblivion members, Zack rushed over to his Mankey's side. The pig monkey was laying on the ground clinching his body in pain as he was still recovering from the vicious battle with Nidoran. Zack bent over and tried to shake the shoulders of his Mankey as he encouraged him to rise.

"Come on Mankey, they need us out here! Machop isn't a great option to call out because then that Mr. Mime will capture him with its Imprison Ray…so you see, I know you're really beat up but I need you to recover so we can get in this fight!"

Meanwhile, Kyle beat frantically on the rainbow colored barrier that entrapped Growlithe, trying to break his pokemon free. It was no use. Valnor, number 9 of the Tenacious Ten jumped off his box to engage Kyle in conversation, to point out the obvious.

"Are you still here boy?" Valnor's voice was very delicate. "There's no escape for your Growlithe thanks to that barrier that Mr. Mime created! As long as Mr. Mime is around, your cute little fire puppy isn't going anywhere!"

"Really…" Kyle had look as fiery as Growlithe's embers in his eyes as he turned his attention to the Mr. Mime standing near Valnor. The fourteen year old boy in a red hoodie took out his other pokemon and sent her out as he called out: "In that case, we need to knock that Mr. Mime out, don't we? Grow Bellsprout! Let's free Growlithe!"

Bellsprout was summoned from the red surge of light that spilled from Kyle's pokeball. The Bellsprout quickly looked around the ship with slight confusion, and then recognized Mr. Mime as her opponent. She spoke her name with determination as he gave Mr. Mime a mean look. Mr. Mime continued his emotionless and oblivious state as he returned the gaze to Bellsprout.

"A grass pokemon against a psychic pokemon?" Valnor exclaimed as he pointed and laughed at Bellsprout. "My, you do indeed have stones my boy…but just who do you think you're dealing with? If you want to fight, whatever…but I'll tear your Bellsprout to pieces before you have a chance to process how beautifully graceful my moves are!"

"Don't listen to this weirdo, Bellsprout." Kyle responded, "Let's smack that Mr. Mime around until he agrees to let Growlithe go. Bellsprout, use Vine Whip, now!"

Bellsprout extended her vines and began whacking Mr. Mime in the face. The psychic pokemon put up his thin hands to cover his face and winced in pain as the vine whipping spree continued. Valnor let out a pompous chuckle as he pointed at Bellsprout and spoke.

"Mr. Mime, use Confusion, NOW!"

The pokemon obeyed as his eyes turned bright blue. A blue psychic energy appeared from Mr. Mime's mind and smacked Bellsprout hard. It was a full body blow that jerked the pokemon backwards and knocked her down, causing Bellsprout to lose her footing. (or what passes as Bellsprout's feet…) Bellsprout tried to recover and slowly regained its composure. Valnor shook his head as he pointed at the opposing pokemon and made another order.

"Quick Mr. Mime, strike it down with another Confusion!"

The pokemon obeyed and sent another streak of blue energy towards Bellsprout and smacked her to the floor once more. This time, Bellsprout didn't get up. Kyle gave a frusterated cry as he called Bellsprout back and did his best to encourage the hurting pokemon.

"You did your best Bellsprout, that Mr. Mime is a tough one….What do I do now?"

"Abandon ship, your Growlithe is mine now!" Valnor spoke with a sarcastic and vile laugh.

"I'll fight your Mr. Mime myself if that means I can save my pokemon!" Kyle snarled as he ran towards Mr. Mime flailing his fists."

"Oh my, pokemon abuse…" Valnor's smug tone continued, "How very unsportsmanlike…We can't have that, can we? Such improper conduct is so very ungraceful. Mr. Mime, use Confusion!"

This time, when Mr. Mime's eyes became blue, Kyle felt his body lift into the air and stop moving as it floated. Kyle tried to resist this attack but found himself powerless. He had to free Growlithe, but he was unable to do so.

Mankey slowly opened his eyes and began shaking off the pain he was feeling. Zack gave a relieved smile as his pokemon was coming to. He turned his head to see Kyle floating in the air due to Mr. Mime's confusion attack.

"What kind of idiot tries to attack a pokemon?" Zack muttered under his breath as he acknowledged how stupid Kyle looked in that moment. "Whatever, let's give him a hand Mankey! Before that Mr. Mime can see you rush over towards him and give the pokemon a big kick to the stomach. I want to see that silly looking pokemon get knocked overboard, can you do that, pal?"

Mankey jumped to his feet and nodded, his eyes full of determination. The pokemon ran swiftly towards Mr. Mime, it's tail wagging with an overload of excitement. It was clear that this Mankey found himself superpowered with rage as the pain of his last battle was still radiating all throughout his body. With one fierce cry, Mankey leaped into the air and sent a Low Kick to Mr. Mime's stomach, before the pokemon could even take note of Mankey's arrival to the battle scene. Mr. Mime screamed in pain as he was knocked overboard and started to sink. Mankey made many primal yells as it jumped up and down with pride.

As the Mr. Mime was knocked into the water and lost concentration, the barrier surrounding Growlithe disappeared. The fire pokemon barked with relief as he jumped in front of Kyle and twirled around to growl at Valnor with the intention of having his revenge. Valor glared at his enemies, embarrassed at the dirty sneak attack from Mankey that had bested him. He threw his white trench coat overboard, revealing the black number 9 tattooed on his neck as he pulled out a pokeball.

Meanwhile, numerous Team Oblivion thugs and their pokemon surrounded Draco, Nidoran, and Ekans. The calm trainer surveyed the ship trying to figure out his options as he was being pushed against the side of the S.S Olivia. He gave a slight smile as he saw Kyle's red Growlithe set free. The psychic barrier was gone, which meant if he summoned Abra to the fight scene the pokemon's attention wouldn't have to be put into breaking the Imprison Barriers.

"Annihilate them, Abra." Draco's voice was full of confidence though his tone barely rose as he quietly threw his pokeball into the air.

The purple Abra appeared from the red light and floated in the ground. The pokemon was quiet, calm, and collected, and didn't even let out a tiny noise.

"One pokemon isn't going to make any difference to the outcome of your situation." One of the Team Oblivion thugs spoke cruelly as their pokemon closed in to attack Draco and his pokemon. "It doesn't matter if your pokemon is a Shiny or not…Abra's always been a weak pokemon, and it always will be!"

Draco smiled as he calmly replied to the thug. "You see, that's what I thought too before I met this particular Abra. You see, I've learned that my purple friend here has a large amount of untrained psychic energy. So much in fact, that I always hesitate to withdraw him in large crowds such as these because the devastation he can cause is really quite horrifying. I usually prefer to train Abra in areas where buildings and people can't be harmed, but I believe I'll make an exception today. The past few days, we've been working on Psy Wave…but it's just to strong to be controlled for Abra right now…well, I suppose seeing is believing isn't it? Abra, show these fools what they've awakened…Psy Wave, now!"

Abra opened his eyes which were now bright purple. The pokemon growled in a frenzy as it's body was engulfed in a purple aura. Team Oblivion members and pokemon took a step back in fear as the pokemon continued to radiate in this aura. Even Ekans and Nidoran found themselves instinctively cowering back a little towards Draco, who remained calm as usual. Finally Abra let out a scream as his uncontrolled and untamed Psy Wave pulsed forward. The purple energy wave was so large it knocked down every Team Oblivion member and his or her pokemon. Unfortuntely, the wave didn't stop at the Team Oblivion members but continued to strike one of the ship's sails.

The impact of the Psy Wave to the S.S Anne pillar was so strong that the sail began toppling towards Draco, who now looked alarm. He quickly moved backwards, only to remember that he was at the edge of the boat, and fell backwards and off the ship. As Draco expected to begin feeling very wet and a very fast current, a slender athletic arm grabbed his arm. Draco looked up to see Zack struggling to pull him back to the ship.

"You know," Zack said as he gritted his teeth trying to pull his rival aboard. "You and your pokemon got some real issues…"

"Can't you pull me up on the ship already?" Draco demanded, "I would have thought with your lack of brains you would have made it up with brawn…I suppose I was wrong there."

"Jeez," Zack rolled his eyes, still struggling to pull Draco up AND struggling to resist the urge to just drop him. "Even when I'm trying to help you, you still make fun of me! There's no winning with you, and you're not as light as you think…Wait that's it! Machop, give me a hand!"

Zack used his other hand to summon his starter pokemon. The golden Machop quickly grabbed Draco's other arm and pulled him back on the boat with ease. Zack let go of Draco as soon as he could, for the thought of helping him in anyway made the trainer sick.

"Good going there, Einstein." Zack spoke coolie to Draco, "Sure! Show those Team Oblivion guys whose boss…oh, and while you're at it, please doom all of us to a watery grave by destroying the main pillar motor and sail for the S.S Olivia."

"Whatever…" Draco said as he walked back to check his pokemon's safety. "At the time I don't believe I had any options, you certainly took your time to summon that Machop…he probably could have been more help if you manned up and did something before I almost fell off the edge."

"You're welcome, by the way…" Zack muttered. His attention was then turned to the whereabouts of his Mankey. Both trainers eyes transitioned then to Kyle, his Growlithe, and Valnor.

"It's over!" Kyle yelled out as the ship was now shaking uncontrollably without its main engine working. "The ship is sinking, we need to get out of here and get to safety. Just admit you lost, get out of here, and let us go on our way!"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way." Valnor said, his eyes blazing now with cold determination to finish off his brat of an adversary. "The Tenacious Ten NEVER fail a mission, otherwise they are stripped of their status as one of the Tenacious Ten. Besides, myself and all my men are fully capable of swimming. A sinking ship is nothing for professionals such as myself to fret over. Besides, running in the face of adversity is such a UGLY thing. No…The easy way to take your pokemon would have been to Imprison it and then bring it to headquarters peacefully…you've unlocked option two. I will make all your pokemon faint, and move on to the other Shiny pokemons after your Growlithe is puppy chow….What poetic irony it is for you, my boy…you boarded this vessel with the intention of beginning your Pokemon journey, and I came here to end it. Sorry, that's life! It's not as beautiful in person as we see in the books and poems."

"You talk too much…" Kyle cut off Valnor's monologue. "If it's a fight you want I won't turn you down, hurry up and summon your pokemon so I can put it down so we can all get out of here alive."

"As you wish," Valnor threw his pokeball. "Grace us with your presence, Scyther!"

Kyle gave a satisfied smile as the fierce bug pokemon with blades appeared. Growlithe was a fire pokemon which meant he had the type advantage now. Growlithe growled at Scyther with a vicious temper beginning to rage.

"So much for type advantages now, right?" Kyle mocked confidently, "Fire wins over Bug…Sorry for your luck…What is it you said earlier? Oh yeah…that's life!"

"Oh how great it must feel to be young and so full of naïve confidence." Valnor shook his head in disdain towards his opponent. "Adults like myself know that type advantage isn't everything. Even a naturally swift pokemon like Growlithe won't stand a chance against Scyther's speed…there is absolutely no pokemon in Kanto that can catch him! And that, my friend, is what makes my Scyther the most beautiful and graceful pokemon you'll ever battle."

"We'll see about that." Kyle retorted, "No more talking…Growlithe unload some Ember at this bug!"

Growlithe shot searing tiny fireballs towards the bug pokemon who swiftly dodged it so quickly that Growlithe and Kyle had trouble catching his movements. Kyle caught himself being dumbfounded at the Skyther's agility, as Valnor simply smirked with pride.

"Skyther dear, bless us with your Double Team attack please."

Skyther obeyed and suddenly multiplied into six multiple mirror copies of himself. Growlithe frantically looked at each image trying to figure out which was one the real Skyther. Then Skyther, with his images, began to take flight and move so fast that Growlithe could not keep up with the agile and swift movements.

"Growlithe keep your guard up!" Kyle called out, "He's got to stop moving sometime!"

"You'd think so but we can really do this all day." Valnor responded, "But, as you mentioned earlier we are on a sinking boat…so let's end this quickly. Skyther, use Fury Cutter now…let's chop this dog into a delicious filet!"

Skyther's images suddenly appeared right in front of Growlithe, his long blades glowing green as they slashed down and hit the fire pokemon in the face once. The first attack wasn't to powerful, but before Growlithe could react, Skyther disappeared again in evasive and swift movements. Every now and again, an image of Skyther would appear in front of Growlithe and then disappear. At times, the real Skyther attacked and each Fury Cutter was more powerful then the last. Growlithe began whimpering as the cuts were becoming more and more lethal.

"Growlithe hang in there!" Kyle cried out, his heart broke as he watched his pokemon cry out in anguish.

"You have to do something!" Zack called out to Kyle from the other side of the boat. "Growlithe can't take much more of a beating, man!"

"What the heck are you still doing on this boat?" Kyle demanded, "We're SINKING you know! If you want to go to Pallet Town, you better jump and do it soon!"

"I thought about it…" Zack replied as his Mankey ran back towards him, "But when I saw Draco abandon ship and take one of the life rafts towards Pallet Town I realized I began this journey to Pallet Town with a partner, and I aim to finish it with him! Hurry up and win this thing so we can get out of here. Growlithe you can do it!"

Kyle turned his attention to the battle, as Growlithe continued to be attacked by the swift Fury Cutter slices from Skyther. Kyle thought to himself _"I can't possibly land a hit on Skyther…unless I could predict his next move…wait, that's it!"_

Kyle pointed to the ground in front of Growlithe and yelled out to his pokemon. "Growlithe, brace yourself for Skyther's next slash."

Sure enough Skyther appeared and slashed Growlithe. As the pokemon was raising his long blade, Kyle gave his next order. "Now Growlithe, use ember on the ground below Skyther."

The puppy obeyed and lit the ground on fire, creating a big hole in the wood. Skyther fell into the hole and began to take flight into the air. This was EXACTLY what Kyle was hoping for, and he made his second order. "Now Growlithe, hold nothing back, use the strongest Ember you can!"

Growlithe opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and launched fire with everything he had in him. The fires that were released looked much different then the little fire pellets that came with the Ember attack. Instead, the flames were swirling in a circle and much stronger than usual as they hit Skyther who cried in immense pain as he hit the ground unconscious and severely burnt.

"I don't believe it!" Kyle exclaimed, "Growlithe, I think you just taught yourself the Fire Wheel technique! Way to go!"

Valnor summoned back his pokemon and began to fume with his own rage. The man who to this point had been very calm and collected glared at Kyle as he yelled very loudly in a frenzy. "You little Wart! I can't lose! This isn't over!"

"Yes it is…" Kyle interrupted, "Growlithe, use Roar on Valnor!"

Growlithe obeyed and created such a powerful roar that the sound wave it created knocked Valnor off the ship and into the water. Kyle summoned Growlithe back and complimented his pokemon on the victory. After Kyle and Zack gathered all their pokemon back in their balls, they began to panic as the ship was almost completely sunk. All the other trainers had abandoned the ship, leaving Kyle and Zack by themselves to drown…Or that's what they thought.

"We have to jump!" Zack said, "We can do it, right Kyle?"

"I don't know, all this debris from the ship is floating around! If we jump now, we may hit our heads on something, and I know I don't have to tell you what happens when you try to swim when you're unconscious…"

"How the heck are we going to get off this boat then?" Zack demanded frantically.

Suddenly a pokeball from the very top of the ship at the captain's quarters was thrown towards the sea, and a very mature Lappras appeared. Zack and Kyle followed the trajectory of the pokeball to see a man in a rugged blue cloak with only part of his very bearded face covered.

"The ship's captain?" Kyle asked, trying to identify this mysterious man. "Where the heck has been this whole time anyway?"

"We could have DEFINITELY used that Lappras a while ago."

The man said nothing, but threw a large rope towards Lappras who grabbed it with her mouth. As the pokemon clung to the rope and swam towards Pallet Town, the sinking ship began to float with it.

"Of course!" Zack exclaimed, "While we were battling the captain was securing that rope around the entire ship! We're going to be able to make it to Pallet Town, Kyle!"

"Thank goodness…" Kyle gave a great sigh of relief as he looked at Pallet Town appearing over the horizon. "What a close call…but now we're finally on mainland Kanto…Zack, our journey will officially begin when we get off this boat…or what's left of it!"

* * *

**So what'd you think? Let me know with a REVIEW! Also, here's a little teaser...we'll be seeing two main characters from the REAL Pokemon adventures in the next chapter...the main characters get to battle one of my absolute favorite Pallet Town pokemon trainers and I'll give you a hint...it's NOT Ash Ketchum! Give up? Well, check it out next chapter!**


	11. Pallet Town Pokemon Evaluation

**A Note From the Author: **_There has been quite some time in between this chapter and the last one, eh? Well, that's because I almost finished and then it got deleted! It took me a while to work up the nerve to rewrite ch 11, but here it is! Anyway, thanks for everyone for reading and **Fatsquirrel** for reviewing ch 10. I'd love to hear what the rest of you think so feel free to drop me a review. Well, sorry for the wait but I made this chapter good and long so I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

**POKEMON: The Journey to be the Best**

**Chapter 11**

**Pallet Town Pokemon Evaluation**

Kyle and Zack jumped off what was left of the S.S Olivia as soon as the Lappras got them close enough to the small dock at Pallet Town. The boys let out a massive combined sigh of relief as their feet hit dry land.

"After that voyage, I officially have decided that I HATE sea travel." Zack said, as he resisted the urge to swear off ships forever.

"We would have been goners if it wasn't for that mysterious captain that showed up out of nowhere to help us…" Kyle commented as he turned around to try to catch another glimpse of the unknown man. Much to the boys dismay, the captain and his Lappras had disappeared.

"Where could he possibly have gone in such a short time?" Zack wondered. "Maybe we'll never know who that guy was…but I certainly am grateful he saved our butt."

"I'm glad we finally made it to Pallet Town." Kyle changed subjects as the two began walking through the small town. "Now our Pokemon Journey has OFFICALLY begun!"

"Hey you know what we should do?" Zack said, his voice showing elevated excitement. "Pallet Town is really only known for two things…the world renowned Pokemon trainers, Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak, AND the Pokemon Research Center here!"

"Um Zack…" Kyle scratched his head at his friend's lack of ability with numbers. "I think you mean, three things…by my count you mentioned one more than two there."

"Oh whatever," Zack waved his hands, disregarding Kyle's comment. "I heard that Pallet Town's Pokemon laboratory is where Gary Oak keeps many of his Pokemon! We HAVE to see them before we head to find our first Kanto Gym."

Kyle nodded in agreement as the two found their way to the Pokemon Laboratory. In the past ten years, Pallet Town's research facility had grown quite a lot and had become with absolutely no doubt the most renowned Pokemon laboratory in the Kanto region thanks to the successful discoveries made by Professor Oak and his research partner and grandson, Gary Oak.

When Kyle and Zack entered the laboratory they were incredibly impressed to see the habitats that the professors had made for many of Gary's Kanto pokemon. The pokemon were living peacefully but the trainers could tell they were very strong. It was obvious that Professor Gary Oak took very good care of all his pokemon.

The many pokemon was the FIRST thing that the boys noticed when they entered Pallet Town's lab, but it didn't keep their attention long when they noticed someone else in the room…Draco Lucian.

"Draco!" Zack exclaimed, his voice fuming with anger. The trainer found himself so angry at his rival and arch enemy that he couldn't properly articulate how he felt. Draco took the awkward silence to throw in a jab or two at his opposing trainers.

"So apparently you two survived the shipwreck of S.S Olivia. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised and sad for the Kanto region…I would have told the story as the noble action of two lesser trainers who opted to spare this region of their inadequacies and decided to go down with the ship before they made it to Pallet Town at the beginning of their Pokemon Journey…"

"Yeah we survived!" Kyle interjected, equally as hateful to Draco as Zack was. "No thanks to you!"

"I only help things worth helping." Draco turned his attention back to the pokemon he was looking at. "It's no surprise that two fanboys such as yourself have stopped by this research facility. Gary Oak definitely has an impressive display of pokemon here. He was at one point one of the greatest pokemon trainers in Kanto…of course, he forfeited all that in the name of pokemon research. If you ask me, I think he could have had a chance against the Elite Four by now, if he hadn't gone soft."

"I didn't realize I was so well known." A voice came from behind Zack and Kyle.

All three boys turned around to see Professor Gary Oak along with grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak, enter the room. These were Kanto's leading pokemon experts, and Kyle couldn't help himself but baulk over seeing Gary Oak especially.

"You're Gary Oak!" Kyle spoke in admiration. "Man, I'm a huge fan of yours! You used to be big back in the day as far as pokemon trainers go. That battle between you and Ash Ketchum in the semi finals of the Silver league…that to this day goes down in my book as the greatest pokemon battle I've ever seen!"

Gary gave a humble chuckle as he was very flattered. "That definitely was my best battle ever. I lost it, but that defeat taught me some important life lessons. A true mark of a good pokemon battle is if after it you feel like you're a better person, and after me and Ash's battle…I definitely did. I'm a bit surprised though kid, that match was like ten years ago…you had to be what, like four when I was in the Silver League?"

"It still is marked in the history books, bro." Zack added in, "We may have been too see that match live, but it's shown often on TV as some of Pokemon League's greatest moments. It was legendary."

"Yes you were quite a legendary trainer." Draco added as he moved closer to the trainers and professors. "Up until the point where Ash beat you and you left the life of a trainer, defeated, and became a pokemon researcher. A bit of a let down, if you ask me."

"Yes there are some that probably wouldn't understand Gary's decision to become a pokemon researcher." Professor Oak spoke up for his grandson, slightly taken back from the rude statement he had heard from this unknown boy in his research lab. "But I know my grandson well, and I know that he considers that to be one of the best decisions of his life."

"That's for sure." Gary added with a nod and smile. "Being a Pokemon Trainer was more of Ash's thing, I'm definitely more at peace with studying them."

"Is Ash here at Pallet too?" Zack asked, "I mean you two were both trainers from Pallet Town, so I can only assume he still lives here too!"

"Nope." Gary said with another chuckle. There always seemed to be brand new trainers looking for Ash in Pallet Town. "Sorry, Ash moved to Cerulean City a few years back. I left Pokemon Training to be scientist and he left it for a family. Say, speaking of training…are you guys here for starter pokemon? You three must be on a journey together!"

"Don't lump me together with these two losers." Draco said, as his interest in the conversation was beginning to fade. He began walking to the door. "I'm way out of their league."

"Don't listen to him." Kyle disregarded Draco's typical rude statement. "Me and Zack don't want to be with _him_ either…but we're all from Grain Island. I'm Kyle Rogers from Crimson Town and this is Zack Porter from Gladus Town. Draco's one of the rich Lucian snobs from the Lucian Manor….don't let his arrogant rude behavior fool you, he's actually a decent trainer."

"So am I to understand that all of you have Shiny pokemon then?" Gary's voice suddenly got very excited.

The three boys all paused and gave Gary a questionable look. In the past couple of weeks, whenever someone questioned them about their Shiny pokemon it usually involved a pokemon battle and a fair amount of discomfort. Zack and Kyle gave each other nervous looks and Draco simply stopped leaving the door and paused to calmly wait for the next comment.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that…" Gary noticed the tension in the room and tried to help the boys understand him. "You see, my grandfather and I don't get to see Shiny pokemon much as they're a rarity and abnormality in the Pokemon world. I know that Professor Davis in Crimson Town is the leading expert in Shiny pokemon within the Scientific community. I was hoping that if you guys happened to have a Shiny pokemon we could maybe see them. "

"Oh I understand." Kyle said, feeling more comfortable about Gary's intention. "In that case, come on out and say Hi Growlithe!"

Kyle threw his pokeball and Growlithe appeared in a surge of red light. He barked cheerfully at the trainers and then ran to where Gary's Arcanine was sitting in his habitat. Growlithe stared at the larger dog in admiration as Arcanine peered back at the fire puppy curious as to his bright red fur.

Zack also summoned his Machop, and the golden pokemon delighted in flexing his muscles as the Professors examined both him and Growlithe. Draco simply rolled his eyes and began to walk away again.

"Fascinating!" Gary said as he looked at Growlithe and Machop.

"Tell me, Draco, do you have a Shiny pokemon too?" Professor Oak asked just as Draco was at the door step.

Draco barely turned his head as he spoke coldly. "I only bring Abra out for battles. I don't like wasting his time so people can admire his uniqueness."

"Perhaps we can both help each other then." Gary spoke up. "Here in Pallet Town, I offer a service to any trainers in the area. I call it a Pokemon Evaluation Battle. The way it works is we have a short battle, and I'll evaluate how you interact with your pokemon and I'll share my expert advice on how to better your cohesion with your pokemon. Draco, Zack, Kyle, I'd like to evaluate each of your Shiny pokemon. It would help me, and I know it'd help you too!"

All three boys thought this was a great idea, as it's not every day that one gets free training advice and the opportunity to battle a living legend like Gary Oak. The professors led the trainers outside to the backyard of the research facility where there was large grass plain. This typically was where the pokemon could run and exercise, but Gary explained that it would make for a great battle arena.

* * *

Draco stepped up to be first, explaining he didn't want to waste any more of his time then he had to. He called out his purple Abra who once summoned was as calm and quiet as usual. Zack and Kyle exchanged worried looks as they remembered the last time they saw Abra in a battle, it took out half a ship. Gary, however, didn't seem uneasy at all when he saw the powerful pokemon.

"Gary are you going to use your Blastoise?" Zack asked as the professor withdrew his pokeball.

Gary simply smiled at the funny idea of bringing out his strongest pokemon for an evaluation battle. "No I'm afraid that wouldn't do any good for any of us. I am going to use one I've been training up lately for research purposes. I believe he'll be a great challenge for all your pokemon, as he is an very strong pokemon. It however won't be as one sided of battles as if I were to call out Blastoise…I choose you, Ivysaur!"

Gary threw his ball and the green grass pokemon Ivysaur came out with eyes that blazed with the passion of a battle. Draco simply shook his head in disappointment as he gave another one of his condescending comments.

"I expected more from you Gary. Is this your attempt of going easy on me because you think I'm an inexperienced trainer? Rest assured, Abra will annihilate your Ivysaur…and the type advantage a psychic pokemon has over a grass pokemon will make it even more unbearable for you."

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Gary spoke calmly and now instructively. "This Ivysaur is very experienced and may surprise you. I'd watch out for your ego, Draco. You got talent, I can tell that, and your pokemon has some real power…that's good too. But if you're always so sure of the outcome, you leave yourself that much more open to defeat. I was like that when I was a kid, so I definitely know what I'm talking about…I also know that these words won't mean anything to you, so feel free to attack when you're ready."

"Abra, use Confusion now!" Draco spoke calmly to his pokemon.

Abra's eyes glowed blue as he tried to contain and control Ivysaur's body. The grass pokemon grunted a bit as a blue aura began to line his body. He closed his eyes as he struggled with the psychic pokemon's attack. Gary took his turn now to order his pokemon.

"Push through the control, Ivysaur. Use Razor Leaf!"

Ivysaur clenched his eyes shut, growled, and then sent sharp green leaves flying out of his body towards Abra. The attack was powerful and hit Abra in a way that made him lose his focus on the Razor Leaf. Ivysaur then ran towards Abra and landed a vicious tackle, knocking the pokemon out. Without saying anything, Draco summoned back the unconscious Abra. Kyle and Zack were very impressed with the Ivysaur, as this was the first time they had seen any pokemon put Draco's Abra to shame.

"You don't seem to encourage your pokemon." Gary observed. "Abra is clearly a very powerful pokemon, but I fear he needs to feel love and compassion from his trainer to truly be a happy pokemon. Who knows the kinds of pressure that these pokemon feel being different because of their Shiny status. Can you imagine being born as a PURPLE pokemon in a world where every other Abra is a YELLOW pokemon? Who knows what this Abra went through before he was caught by Professor Davis…My guess though based on his very reserved nature that it has had a lot of bad experiences. You do a good job of teaching your pokemon how to be strong, but you'd do well to teach it how to be loved too."

"My pokemon are warriors set apart for one purpose...To defeat the champion, Raven Grayson." Draco said as he began walking away from the trainers and professors. "There is no place in our journey for love."

Draco then paused and gave a satisfied smile to Gary as he finished his statement. "Next time I'm going to beat your Ivysaur and any other pokemon you throw my way, I promise you that."

Kyle felt strange after witnessing that. Did Draco just find someone that he…actually liked? It was clear that even if Draco didn't like Gary, he respected him as a superior trainer. Gary looked now at the remaining two trainers expecting one to step up. Zack moved forward and called out his Machop. The golden muscled pokemon flexed and glared at the Ivysaur. On Machop's face there was a very competitive smile.

"Hmm…" Gary observed Machop as he made his beginning evaluation. "It's all over this pokemon's face. He's full of himself. He thinks because he's genetically a little stronger than others of his kind that he can't be beat. Zack if you want your Machop to do better, he needs to learn to expect to encounter pokemon out there that are stronger than him. That will help him try harder in battles."

"How can you say that before we even fight?" Zack asked, a bit hurt at Gary's evaluation. "Maybe my Machop isn't full of himself, maybe he just knows he's the best!"

"Maybe." Gary said, in his head observing the fact that all young confident trainers seemed to be the same. "Or maybe his trainer is as just as confident as he is and doesn't see it to be a problem? Come on then, let me show you what I mean!"

"Machop use a Low Kick now, aim for Ivysaur's face!"

"Ivysaur, Vine Whip!"

Machop ran towards Ivysaur and in one kick movement Ivysaur extended vines, picked up Machop, and slammed him onto the ground. The fighting pokemon laid on the ground unconscious and defeated. Zack was stunned at how easy Gary had defeated his pokemon.

"Granted my Ivysaur is much stronger than your Machop…" Gary spoke, "but he was being foolish to run directly towards a grass pokemon with vines like he did. You can pick whether that was the fault of your pride or his, but you should work on that if you hope to excel as a trainer. OK, Kyle you're up!"

Kyle looked at Gary with determination and a bit of fear. The past two pokemon were devastated, what chance did he have of winning against this Ivysaur even with a fire pokemon? Kyle shook off that feeling as he knew that this battle was for the sake of learning. If he and Growlithe were going to get better, they needed seemingly impossible challenges like this to overcome.

"Let's go Growlithe!" Kyle called out as he summoned is pokemon, "Quickly start things off with Fire Wheel!"

Gary was impressed as the low level Growlithe launched a fairly advanced fire technique towards his pokemon. The professor ordered his Ivysaur to use his vine whip to jump high out of the way of the fire.

"Try a Roar against Ivysaur!" Kyle ordered.

Growlithe obeyed and let out a very loud bark and shook the nearby trees. It began to push Ivysaur back, but the pokemon focused hard and began to walk forward. Gary then ordered it to use Razor Leaf and it launched many leaves towards Growlithe. The fire pokemon winced as it took the sharp leaves. Growlithe began dropping to his feet but pushed hard to stand up.

"You have a very strong Growlithe here, Kyle." Gary said with a smile. "I'm impressed. And he loves you and shows a lot of dedication. All of you are great trainers, that's for sure…but currently I'm most impressed with you Kyle. With that said, you and your pokemon seem to have the most dangerous problem. As trainers, you need to be okay with defeat. It's all over your pokemon's face, he refuses to lose…and that's good. But sometimes, you just meet a stronger foe. It's how we get up AFTER our defeats that marks what kind of trainers we are. My buddy Ash taught me that…and maybe I can teach that to you now. Ivysaur, Growlithe's not going to quit…finish him off with a tackle!"

"Growlithe you use tackle too!" Kyle ordered his pokemon.

The two opposing pokemon ran at each other and used the same move. Ivysaur was much more powerful than Growlithe and took him down easily. Kyle smiled as he brought his fainted pokemon back.

"Hey we lasted longer than the other guys." Kyle spoke softly to his pokemon in the pokeball. "You did great Growlithe, that guy is a living legend."

* * *

"I hope you kids enjoyed your evaluation match against my grandson." Professor Oak spoke to Zack and Kyle as they were leaving Pallet Town later that day.

"Well, it's hard to enjoy getting creamed by a pokemon like that…" Zack replied, "But I definitely learned a lot!"

"I hope Gary didn't mind us taking up part of his afternoon like that." Kyle spoke, "It was really beneficial though. And really cool! Not many people back home can say they had a pokemon battle with Gary Oak. I hope to challenge him REALLY one day in a full match where he is trying to win verses just teaching us something."

"Maybe one day you will." Professor Oak said as he patted the backs of the two aspiring young trainers. "But you should know this was as much fun for Gary as it was for you guys. Studying Shiny Pokemon is not something we get to do often, so I'm sure just seeing your Growlithe and Machop absolutely made his day. It was certainly fascinating for me to watch!"

"Take it easy, Professor!" Kyle said as the boys waved as the distance between the trainers and Oak increased. "Thanks again!"

"Man, what cool guys." Zack spoke as they began walking down Route 1 towards Viridian City. "Think we'll ever be able to take Gary on again, and actually seriously stand a chance?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle replied with a witty smile to his best friend, "When I'm Pokemon Champion and you're the guy that almost beat me in the League Finals, right before I destroy the Elite 4 and beat Raven Grayson…Gary will be coming to find US for rematches…and then we'll probably be giving him Pokemon advice!"

The two boys held their heads high with cheerful ambition and dreams of grandeur as they continued their pokemon journey.


	12. A New Rival

**Chapter 12**

**A New Rival**

Kyle and Zack continued down Route 1 onward to Viridian City with the hopes of taking on their first gym leader in Kanto. The boys felt confident that their pokemon would be strong and ready by then to battle well against a gym leader as their companions had grown a lot since the trainers began their journey on Grain Island.

The two boys wandered down the dirt road in silence each considering their gym battle that would be coming soon. The quiet and reflective walk was quickly interrupted by the sound of a pokemon crying in woods that were not too far from the trainers. Kyle and Zack quickly jumped over some bushes and ran towards the panicking pokemon.

As they moved into the high grass they saw a pack of Rattatas attacking a lone Eevee. There were seven rats ambushing the Eevee, and he yelled out in panic as they bit down on him.

"That Eevee is in trouble!" Kyle spoke as he pulled a pokeball off his belt and threw it. "Bellsprout go! Use Vine whip to scare off those Rattatas."

Bellsprout appeared out of Kyle's pokeball and began smacking the rats with his tail, causing them to shriek and turn their attention onto the opposing pokemon. Zack pulled one of his pokeballs out of his backpack and was about to summon backup for Bellsprout, but another trainer beat him to the punch.

"Oddish go!" a female voice from the shadows of the woods was heard. "Use poison powder on all those Ratattas!"

A blue Oddish with green leaves on her head jumped out of the bushes with a happy face as she secreted powder that poisoned the rats. The tiny pokemon coughed in pain as the poisonous pollen surrounded them. The alpha Rattata spoke an order in their language and all the Ratattas retreated with their leader into the wild, leaving the Eevee cowering by himself.

"What are the odds of finding a wild Eevee out here!?" Kyle's voice radiated with ambition as he withdrew an empty pokeball. "I'm going to catch him!"

Kyle threw his pokeball at the exact same time as the unknown trainer threw her pokeball. It was here that the two trainers noticed each other as their balls simply collided into each other. Eevee looked at them curiously, and sniffed the balls.

Kyle surveyed this girl who appeared to be the same age as him. She had long blonde hair and wore a blue toboggan. She wore blue jeans, a bright orange tank top, and a blue wind breaker jacket. Her eyes were bright blue and Kyle would be lying if he said he didn't notice them first about this girl.

"Hey what's the big idea?" The girl yelled out at Kyle. "I'm trying to catch that pokemon! You new trainers always come around here from Pallet blundering around and barely catching weak pokemon on Route 1. Today a rare pokemon is actually seen in these part and I am NOT going to let some random fresh meat trainer beat me to the punch on catching him!"

"We were here first!" Kyle retorted as he glared at the rude girl with the big mouth. "So get over it! And we're not fresh meat trainers."

"Really…" The girl gave a competitive smile as she summoned Oddish back and pulled out another pokeball out. "OK then kid…let's have a battle. The winner gets to catch Eevee. " (The Eevee simply looked curiously at the two trainers as his name was mentioned)

Kyle called back Bellsprout and pulled out his pokeball containing Growlithe. "If that's what you want, then fine…but just so you know, we've been on our Pokemon journey for a while now, my pokemon are awfully strong."

"That's what I'm hoping for." The girl said with a satisfied smile, showing that she had very pretty teeth. "I live in Viridian City and the only trainers I ever fight are weak ones that just started their journey. I need to up my skills some more so I have been itching to get in a real battle. My pokemon are tough too, this won't be an easy win for you. What's your name, boy?"

"Kyle Rogers…and let me introduce you to my starting Pokemon…Come out and say Hi Growlithe! You're looking at the next champion and his Star pokemon!" Kyle smiled proudly as Growlithe appeared and barked competitively towards the girl.

Zack decided to keep his mouth shut even though strongly protested the idea that Kyle was going to be the next champion. Instead, he moved over to where the wild Eevee sat, watching the battle start. The athletic boy sat down next to the pokemon partly to make sure it didn't run, but also to watch the battle too.

The girl spoke, her voice full of confidence and pride. "You must be confused on something, Kyle. My name is Amanda Rhodes, and I'm going to be the next Champion in the Pokemon League. And allow me to introduce you to MY starting pokemon and star player…Go Charmander!"

A bright orange Charmander appeared with his tail burning rapidly. The two pokemon snarled at each other, both excited to have a fight with another of the same time. Kyle also found himself excited to be taking on another fire pokemon.

"Let's make this a one on one match to keep it short to make sure the Eevee doesn't run away…are you okay with that Kyle?"

Kyle nodded in agreement to Amanda's terms and spoke. "Ladies first, I'm ready when you are."

"Alright Charmander start things off with a scratch attack!"

"Dodge it Growlithe!"

The Charmander rushed towards Growlithe and attempted to strike the dog with his sharp claws. Growlithe very quickly leapt out of the way and growled at Charmander, as if to taunt it. Charmander glared back at the pokemon, frustrated that he had missed.

"Growlithe counter attack with a Tackle!" Kyle ordered.

"Duck Charmander!"

As Growlithe rushed towards Charmander, the lizard pokemon bent down and allowed the pokemon to jump over him. Charmander then raised up and used his body to slam Growlithe onto the ground. The dog made a small yelp as it felt the hard ground hit his nose.

"Jump up and light that puppy up with your Ember, Charmander!" Amanda spoke with a satisfied smile. It had been a while since she fought a pokemon this strong.

Charmander obeyed and began shooting small fire balls at Growlithe who closed his eyes and took the pain.

"Growlithe use your Roar to destroy the embers!" Kyle called out to his pokemon, knowing the puppy was hurting.

Growlithe let out a loud bark and distinguished all the fires and pushed Charmander back onto the ground. The lizard took a few steps back in fright of the loud roar.

"Impressive move." Amanda complimented, "That roar is a bit more powerful then I'm used to, that's for sure. But that won't slow us down, right Charmander?"

The fire lizard nodded with determination. Amanda pointed at Growlithe and ordered her pokemon once more.

"OK let's finish things off with a Metal Claw attack Charmander, show no mercy!"

"Don't let him get to you with that move, Growlithe." Kyle countered, "Use Fire Wheel!"

Charmander's claw became silver and metallic as he rushed towards Growlithe to land a finishing blow. At the same time, Growlithe send out a inferno wheel towards the lizard pokemon with all the heat he could muster. The flame hit Charmander and he cried out in pain, but the pokemon pushed forward to land a crushing slash on Growlithe who now barked in great agony. After both moves were over and done with, both Growlithe and Charmander laid unconscious next to each other with swirls in their eyes. Both Kyle and Amanda were shocked at this outcome because neither thought their fire pokemon could be bested by the other.

"I…" Kyle stammered. "They're both, defeated? Come on Growlithe, surely you're not done yet!"

"Charmander?" Amanda called out, "Is that it, really? I'm a bit surprised."

Both trainers called their pokemon back and Zack asked the obvious question that was on everyone's mind.

"So um…" Zack stood as he broke the awkward silence. "Who gets this Eevee?"

"Let's both stand on either side and see who he wants to come towards." Kyle said with a shrug. "Obviously Eevee WANTS to be caught otherwise he wouldn't have been hanging around this entire time."

"That sounds fair." Amanda agreed, "But don't cry when he comes to me instead of you, hot shot."

"Whatever." Kyle rolled his eyes as both trainers got on either side of the Eevee.

"Come on Eevee!" Kyle called out, "Come join me, we'd love to have you on the team!"

"Don't listen to him," Amanda said in as nice and motherly way as she could. "You belong with me and Charmander! I'll help you get nice and strong so you don't have to worry about mean packs of Ratatta again."

"It's more fun to run with us." Kyle said with a smile to the Eevee who now was looking at both trainers as he tried to figure out what was going on. "You'll get to hang out with Zack and his pokemon too…c'mon buddy!"

The Eevee looked from Amanda to Kyle and then from Kyle to Amanda. After about ten minutes of each trainer trying to coerce the pokemon to join their side, Eevee slowly trotted over to Kyle and nuzzled his head into the trainer's leg. Kyle let out a cheer as he opened up a pokeball and Eevee willingly turned into a red surge of light and entered the ball. Amanda let out a frustrated cry and stomped her foot in anger.

"Lame!" She yelled out. "Whatever…judging from your other two pokemon, I'd say you could use all the help you can get."

"Hey our battle ended in a tie!" Kyle retorted as he shook his fist at Amanda, "But I'm always up for round two."

"Another time, maybe." Amanda began running towards Viridian City. "I have to get home now, my dad's going to kill me if I'm late!"

"Yeah you better run!" Kyle yelled out, "Nice battle Amanda, but next time I'm going to win! I don't do ties!"

"Hey maybe next time you can get her number too!" Zack said with a smile as he walked over to Kyle and patted him on the back. "A girlfriend and new pokemon all in the same day, I'd say this is a pretty good day for you!"

"Shove off." Kyle said as he shrugged Zack's hand off his shoulder. "She's not my girlfriend, that girl annoyed me, and I don't like the fact that we didn't really finish our match."

"I don't know…" Zack said as the two continued to walk to Viridian City. "She kind of reminded me of you…well, a girl version of you!"


	13. The Viridian City Gym Rematch

**A note from the Author:** _Hi everyone, were you unsatisfied with the battle between Amanda and Kyle in the last chapter? Good! I was hoping for that...they get to have a rematch in today's chapter and it's a full blown battle, so I hope you enjoy it! A gentle reminder that I don't own Pokemon but all the characters (with a few exceptions) are OC's in this story. If you ever want to send me an OC I'll add them to the story somewhere._

_Anyway, it's been a few chapters since I've gotten a review so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one! Have a great day and enjoy =)_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**The Viridian City Gym Rematch**

The electric doors to the Viridian City Gym slide open automatically as Amanda Rhodes ran into the building. She ran through the lobby and past the arena to the living quarters to find her father, David Rhodes. David was the Viridian City Gym leader.

He was a tall man with short blonde hair. He wore a blue jacket and orange shit, along with blue jeans, the look that Amanda adopted from. A big smile appeared on his face when Amanda ran into his living room.

"Oh good!" David said with delight, always excited to see his daughter. "You're back! How was your pokemon training today?"

"It was okay." Amanda said as she sat down at a table. "I almost caught an Eevee out there on Route 1! I had never seen one out in the wild here before, it must have been really rare. But then I met these two trainers, and they were pretty good. I battled one and it ended with a tie…I really think Charmander could have beaten him though, we were just exhausted from our training….that's why it ended evenly!"

"Sounds very exciting!" David replied as he put dishes into the cabinet over the sink. "Of course, now that you're back it's time to get to work on your daily chores! The gym needs to be swept and mopped. Don't forget the trainer stands and audience risers…"

"I know I know…" Amanda said, in an immature and slightly childish way. "I've been cleaning that gym since I was four. I think I have it figured out by now!"

"I'm sure you do!" David said with a smile to his fourteen year old daughter, "And that's why ours is the cleanest gym in Kanto!"

"When are you going to let me leave the fine work of gym cleaning and become a real pokemon trainer?' Amanda pleaded.

"When you're ready…" David spoke calmly, "We've gone over this Amanda. I thought your dream was to become the best gym leader in Kanto?"

"But I'm ready now!" Amanda argued, "You should have seen me and Charmander in our battle earlier today, it was epic! And I _do _want to eventually replace you as Viridian City's gym leader but you know that's not for a while…you're not old and helpless yet, you're still one of the strongest trainers in Kanto! I want to train by becoming the Kanto Pokemon League Champion! Then I'll come back to Viridian City as a celebrity and finally give this gym the good name it deserves! Ever since Team Rocket, everyone looks at our gym as if it was cursed or still evil or something. Imagine how they'd all change their minds if it was run by the Pokemon League Champion!"

"That will be a very wonderful day." David said as he patted his daughter on her head, "But it's not today…today you need to get too sweeping before we have any challengers show up. I'd hate for them to battle me on a dusty floor!"

Amanda rolled her eyes as she got up, grabbed a broom, and went into the arena and started to sweep the gym floor. She desperately wanted to start her own pokemon journey, just like every other fourteen year old out there, but her father for some reason didn't think she was ready yet. But SHE knew she was and it was time he noticed it too!

Amanda's internal rant was put on hold when the gym doors slide open and two trainers entered. She turned and looked to see who had come into the arena only to recognize them as Kyle Rogers and her friend, that she didn't recognize.

Kyle and Zack were stunned to see Amanda again, and Kyle instinctively grabbed one his pokeballs as he looked at his rival with unfinished business.

"Amanda!" Kyle called out, "What are you doing here? "

"Dumb question…" Amanda mocked as she held up her broom. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the Viridian City Gym Leader!"

"No way!" Kyle said with shock, he looked at Zack and spoke. "Can you believe it, I almost beat the Viridian City gym leader on route 1? How cool is that!"

"I'm relieved." Zack said with a smile as he too grabbed his pokeballs out of his pocket. "I thought gym battles would be harder than this, but I feel pretty good about the prospects of getting my first badge today!"

"Please!" Amanda interjected. "You guys don't stand a chance, that was a fluke back on Route 1. My Charmander had just finished extensive training, he was tired! It would be totally different if we battled again!"

"Oh really!" Kyle said as he stepped on the gym challenger platform, that automatically begun to raise. "What do you say we put that theory to the test? This time, if I win I get the Viridian City badge!"

"I was thinking the exact same thing…" Amanda stood on the gym leader platform and it begun to rise as well.

"Don't put all your energy in that battle!" Zack cried out to Amanda as he moved to the audience bleachers. "Because I'm going to beat you next…and I don't want you to blame my win on the fact that your pokemon got messed up by Kyle's pokemon!"

"Whatever you say, tough guy." Amanda yelled back at Zack without even looking at him. "Alright Kyle, if we're having a Gym Battle, then we will make it much more professional. We'll have a 3 on 3 pokemon battle, whoever's pokemon win 2 out of 3 of the times is declared the victor…sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Kyle said as he withdrew one of his pokeballs, "Ready when you are!"

"Hold it!" A deep voice came from far side of the gym. Kyle, Zack, and a now very nervous Amanda turned to see David Rhodes standing there looking at the three trainers. "What exactly is going on here, Amanda?"

"I'm about to win a badge, that's what's going on!" Kyle said with pride. "Stand back there old timer and watch, you may learn something."

"Excuse me?" David asked, now understanding the situation very well. "Just who do you think you're talking too? I'm David Rhodes, the Viridian City Gym Leader!"

"You got to be kidding me…" Zack spoke as he looked back at Amanda, "Which means…"

"What are you trying to pull here Amanda?" David asked his daughter.

"Daddy I can explain…" Amanda started to talk, now both Kyle and Zack exchanged very annoyed looks. "This is the boy I tied with at Route 1. I wanted to beat him to show you that I'm finally ready to start my own Pokemon Journey. I'm a great trainer, and I just wanted an opportunity to prove it to you!"

"That's all well and good…" Kyle interrupted, "But we came here looking for a battle that could end with us getting a badge. If that's not our fight Amanda, then I'm going to have to put it on hold."

"Hold on just a second…" David thought, somewhat proud of his daughter. He gazed upon the two young trainers who looked around Amanda's age. He took them to be very novice trainers. "How many badges do you boys have?"

"Well…" Zack said slowly, "This would be our first. My name is Zack Porter and that's Kyle Rogers over there. We came from Grain Island so we've already been journeying for a while now so we're not COMPLETELY new."

"I see…" David replied, "Well you may not know this, but I am considered the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto. I typically only battle trainers who have the other seven badges. I'm sorry to say, judging from the looks of you two, you're way out classed."

"What?" Kyle asked in surprised, "You're DENYING us a gym battle? Are you allowed to do that?"

"My gym, my rules." David said with a shrug, and then he pointed to Kyle from where he was standing. "And I haven't completely denied you a gym battle yet. Here's what I'm going to do. Kyle and Amanda will have their match. Kyle if you win, I'll bend my rules a bit and give you two a gym battle tomorrow. Amanda, if you win, I'll take it as merit showing that you are ready to begin your Pokemon Journey."

"Really!?" Amanda's face was teeming with excitement. "Oh this is great, I know I can win."

"I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the future let down." Kyle said with a competitive smile to Amanda, "Because we didn't come this far NOT to have a gym battle. I'm not going to lose."

* * *

"The following will be a 3 on 3 battle. The trainer who lands two wins will be declared the victor." David lowered his referee flags signaling the match to begin."

"Ladies first." Amanda said with cocky smile, reminding Kyle of their previous match. "Let's get dirty, Sandshrew!"

"Very well then." Kyle considered his options as far as first pokemon went and decided on his. "Make me proud, Eevee!"

The brown and white furry pokemon appeared and growled softly as he was somewhat excited for his battling day view with Kyle.

"I would have thought Bellsprout would have been a better pick…" Zack muttered to himself, "Come on Kyle, don't mess this up! You're not playing for just YOUR chance at a gym battle, but mine as well!"

"Ugh, that Eevee annoys me already." Amanda spoke, "Listen up Eevee! Now you're going to see why you should have joined us! Sandshrew start things off with Sand Attack!"

"Eevee don't listen to her!" Kyle encouraged his pokemon, "You made the right choice to hang with us, and now we're going to show her why! Send that sand away with your Tail Whip!"

Eevee spun around and started to rapidly spin his tail, trying to blow the incoming sand away. He got a little in his eyes but was able to stop most of the attack.

"Run up and try to land a Scratch attack!" Amanda called out to her pokemon.

Sandshrew lunged forward, and Kyle ordered his pokemon to attempt to Bite Sandshrew. Amanda smiled, as she had anticipated this very move. She pointed to Sandshrew and at the right time yelled out to her pokemon.

"Now, dig into the ground! Do it quickly Sandshrew!"

Sandshrew jumped into the air and then burrowed into the ground as Eevee just barely missed him with a Bite attack. The pokemon that walked on all four looked around cautiously knowing that Sandshrew could appear anywhere at any given time.

"Keep your eyes open, Eevee!" Kyle said as he tried to survey the battle field to pick out where Sandshrew had gone. "He could be anywhere."

"Or he could be in the exact spot he made and just was playing a trick on you!" Amanda exclaimed with pride, "Sandshrew attack now!"

With great speed, the sand mole pokemon leapt up and gave a hard body blow to Eevee. The cute creature fell to the ground unconscious as the ground attack was very powerful.

"Eevee is unable to battle!" David spoke loudly, "The first round goes to Amanda and her Sandshrew!"

"Good job Eevee, that was a tough first match!" Kyle spoke softly to his pokemon as he called Eevee back into his pokeball. The trainer then looked at Amanda and spoke loudly. "That was a cheap shot!"

"It's called good strategy!" Amanda said proudly, "You should try it sometime Kyle, you may win more!"

"That was Eevee's first match." Kyle said with a smile, "Now let me introduce you to my Pros. OK Bellsprout, it's time to Grow!"

"Bloom Oddish!" Amanda called out at the same time. "Let's win round two as well!"

"I have to say it…" Zack talked to nobody in particular. "These two are very evenly matched, they seem to catch very similar pokemon."

"Oddish use Poison Powder!" Amanda called out.

"Bellsprout use Growth!" Kyle ordered.

Oddish begun to shoot purple spores that left a powdery residue that was toxic to Bellsprout. Kyle's pokemon however used her Vine Body to increase in height as her legs became longer. Within a matter of minutes, Bellsprout had grown so much that she was taller than the poison cloud that Oddish had created.

"Use Vine Whip now!" Kyle instructed Bellsprout. "And grab Oddish!"

Amanda simply gave a confident smile as Bellsprout's vines surrounded and wrapped around Oddish. She had anticipated this kind of move and eagerly awaited Bellsprout's Vine ensnarement. She then called out to her pokemon.

"Oddish, use Absorb now!"

Oddish started to glow green as it began to suck life energy out of Bellsprout. Kyle's grass pokemon shook in pain as he struggled to keep holding the Oddish.

"Push through the pain Bellsprout!" Kyle ordered, "I know it hurts but you're tough! Pick Oddish up and slam her into the ground!"

Bellsprout moaned in pain as her life energy was being sapped. She then clenched Oddish tightly with her vines and slowly picked her up high into the air and slammed her down into the gym floor, leaving a slight crack in the arena. The impact was too much for Oddish to bear, she laid on the ground unconscious. Amanda let out a frustrated yell as Oddish didn't move.

"Oddish is unable to battle!" David spoke emotionlessly. "The round goes to Bellsprout! Our final round begins now!"

"That was a good move, I'll give it to you Kyle." Amanda said as she withdrew her final pokeball, "But I hate to say it, you don't stand a chance of winning this last match. This is my best pokemon! Let's burn Charmander!"

"I knew he was coming." Kyle replied calmly, "But Growlithe is my best pokemon too…and I know he can win this fight! We were so close last time Growlithe, let's go the extra distance and get us a shot at a gym badge! Let's go Growlithe!"

The two fire pokemon were summoned and glared at each other with burning competition in their eyes. It was clear that both these pokemon wanted a rematch just as much as their trainers did.

"Growlithe use tackle now!"

"Charmander, scratch!"

The two pokemon ran towards each other and both landed their attacks. Growlithe was the first to collide into Charmander who then used Scratch to push the dog off of him. They shook their head, taking the damage, and both were intent on still continuing their battle. Growlithe growled ferociously at Charmander who glared back at his rival.

"Use Ember, Charmander!" Amanda called out.

"Use Flame Wheel!" Kyle instructed his pokemon. "You're in for it Amanda, there is no way Charmander's ember will be more powerful than Growlithe's Flame Wheel!"

The two pokemon shot out fire from their bodies and the infernos struck each other and appeared to be an even match. Both trainers were very impressed with the opposing pokemon's fire power.

"Charmander's ember is exceptionally strong, I trained it that way." Amanda spoke, "But nevertheless, your Growlithe does indeed have some power! I guess it's true what they say about those rare Shiny pokemon, like your Growlithe. They are indeed more powerful…but not strong enough to win this match!"

"We'll see…" Kyle murmured. "Keep the fire coming Growlithe, he's got to be getting tired soon!"

Finally both pokemon had to stop their fire attacks as the power was even, and both ran out of energy. The fire had created a large screen of smoke that for a long time covered the battlefield. Both Kyle and Amanda waited for the smog to fade away before they gave their next attack to their pokemon. When the smoke faded, both pokemon were growling at each other.

"It's time to finish this Charmander." Amanda said, now her voice as serious and determined as ever. "Metal Claw now!"

"That's the attack that got us last time, Growlithe!" Kyle spoke, "We're not going to hold her back with a fire attack, that didn't work to well...use Roar and send out the loudest bark you can! I want to see Charmander flying!"

Growlithe obeyed and made an incredibly loud bark that made the trainers cringe from sheer volume, and knocked down a few picture frames that were on nearby walls. Charmander pushed forward though it was a challenge because of the Roar attack. His claw became metallic and silver and he struggled to swing it at Growlithe. The two trainers looked anxiously as their pokemon battled it out. Finally, it was Charmander who was able to push harder, and land the finishing blow on Growlithe. As the metal claw hit his face, Growlithe felt to the ground unconscious.

Kyle felt his heart sink as he summoned back Growlithe. He complimented the pokemon's performance, as he hung his head down in defeat. Aside from the battle with Gary Oak, this was Kyle's first loss, and it meant that he and Zack would have to leave Viridian City without a shot at the gym badge.

Zack ran towards Kyle as the two platform the battling trainers stood on began to descend. He knew his friend was down, and wanted to do everything he could to encourage him.

"Hey no hard feelings man!" Zack spoke as he raced up to Kyle. "That was an epic match, I know you guys gave it everything you had. Besides, if that's how David's daughter battles we can only imagine how powerful the Gym Leader is! We have to come back this way anyway to enter the Pokemon League, so we'll just get this badge on the way to enter the big tournament. No biggie at all!"

"Thanks man." Kyle spoke with a smile. "We almost had it, but it wasn't enough this time."

"That was wonderful!" David ran up to his daughter and hugged her. "I've seen you battle before but never with that kind of determination and strength! I'm very proud of you, Amanda. It's clear that you're ready to start things on your own as a Pokemon trainer. I have all the faith in the world in you, little girl!"

"Thanks Dad!" Amanda smiled as she hugged her father. "That was a lot of fun, and I owe it all to my strong pokemon team."

David turned around to see the two trainers leave the gym and yelled out at them before they left the arena.

"I look forward to eventually facing you guys much later in your pokemon journey!" David spoke loudly, "I have high hopes for you two! Battles like that will get you far!"

"Kyle!" Amanda called out as she ran to the two guys.

"I…" Amanda stammered on the right words to say to her new rival and friend as she looked into his cute blue eyes. "I hope we see each other again. This was a great battle, and I don't think you're a weak trainer anymore…I still think I'm better, but I acknowledge your skill! That Eevee will go far with you, take good care of it."

Kyle smiled warmly as he looked at his pretty new rival. "We'll meet up again in our journey sometime I'm sure. I have to beat you even if it is in the Pokemon League, just to show you that you're NOT better than me."

"You know you could come with us." Zack offered, "We're going to Pewter City which is just through the Viridian Forest."

"Thanks for the offer." Amanda said as she looked back at her dad to make sure he wasn't paying attention. She then leaned in closely to the trainers and unzipped her jacket, showing them the inside. They saw a grey badge buttoned to the jacket. "I kind of snuck out one day and went and beat the gym leader there. It was a tough fight, don't tell my dad…but I guess I already started my road to the Pokemon League a few weeks ago! So my next stop is Cerulean City to take on the second gym leader. I know a short cut there that doesn't involve me walking through a dirty and dark cave."

"Aww come on!" Kyle said with a smile, "That's part of the journey…well, that's impressive that you already have a badge and all. I'm sure we'll see you again sometime! Then we'll have a rematch, and I won't let you off easy."

"You have a vivid imagination." Amanda said with a chuckle as the boys left the Viridian City gym. She may have missed out on catching an Eevee today, but she made two new friends and was ready to begin her own pokemon journey.


	14. The Return of Shade and Mimic

**A Word from the Author: **_Hello everyone, I'm back with the latest chapter! Not much to say before shipping this chapter out. As usual I don't own Pokemon, but this story involves a lot of OC's and I'm always interested in incorporating some of yours if you would like to share! A special thanks to **Fatsquirrel2** and **imminentpursuit **for their recent reviews! I'm always encouraged by the nice reviews and appreciate the constructive criticism as well. (That is after all how we become better writers!)_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, we bring back some characters that haven't been seen for a while! Ciao!_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**The Return of Shade and Mimic**

Kyle and Zack entered Viridian Forest and quickly found themselves entrenched in the green lush mass of trees and wildlife. Everywhere they turned they saw many bugs creeping around. The trainers had heard stories of pokemon poisoning trainers if the folk were foolish enough to disturb the environment, so the boys were careful not to cause to much of a commotion as they wandered through the natural forest maze. Wandering Caterpies and Weedles often caught Kyle and Zack's attention. The pokemon would take a moment to look up and watch the trainers as they moved softly through the forest. Over the years, it became quite a normal thing for trainers to travel through Viridian Forest, so many of the wild pokemon had gotten used to humans and would not act aggressively unless provoked.

After many hours of walking, the boys wandered through the trees trying to find their way out of the forest. They began to get frustrated as it seemed as if they had been going in circles for quite some time. Suddenly, as the boys trotted through the woods, a Metapod fell right in front of them off a string. The random appearance of this pokemon startled the boys as it broke the momentary silence. The Metapod groaned a bit as she looked at the trainers.

"What are you doing?" Kyle said as he bent over to examine the cocoon pokemon. "It's not safe for metapods to be out here in the open. Your place is in a tree waiting to evolve, buddy."

"Look!" Zack said as he pointed into the trees.

Kyle looked up to see high in the trees a great multitude of metapods dangling from trees peacefully. The blonde hair trainer slowly picked up the Metapod, assuring her that he wouldn't hurt her as he spoke.

"I don't know how this pokemon fell out of her tree, but we should get Metapod back up there Zack."

"Check her out!" Zack said as he examined the pokemon. "This Metapod…is blue!"

"That's right, I barely noticed! All the other metapods are green aren't they?" Kyle said, fascinated by the bug pokemon.

"Hey you think that she's a…"

"A shiny pokemon." Kyle completed Zack's sentence. "Would you look at that, a shiny pokemon in the wild! How cool…you're a rarity, Metapod! You're special!"

"Let's get her back in the tree. I have just the thing!" Zack spoke as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a long rope. "It's no string shot, but we can get you hanging off a tree with this. That way you'll be out of danger's way, Metapod."

The two boys tied the rope around Metapod and then Zack climbed a tree, careful not to disturb any of the other metapods, and tied the other end of the rope to a long branch. He then slowly lifted the Metapod to help it dangle from a tree again, and tied the rope once more. Zack then jumped from the tree and smiled at a job well done.

"There you go!" Zack called out to the blue metapod. "You're free to hang there out of harms way until you evolve now."

Suddenly the boys heard much commotion in the trees, as the other metapods began to moan and grunt in a way that only cocoon pokemon can. Zack and Kyle looked at each other, puzzled at what was going on, and then watched in much confusion as the green metapods began to harden their skin and swing from their strings and using tackle on the blue metapod.

"I don't believe it!" Kyle exclaimed, "They regular metapods are trying to knock the blue metapod out of the tree! That's how he ended up on the road anyway…what jerks!"

"Remember what Gary Oak was saying in Pallet Town about Shiny pokemon having to deal with the fact that they're different looking then all the other pokemon of the same type?" Zack asked as he watched the strange event, "I think we're seeing what he was talking about when he said that some shiny pokemon have to deal with being excluded from their culture. Man, what a bunch of jerk metapods! We have to help this blue one."

The boys nodded to each other as they pulled out pokeballs and prepared to take action.

"Grow Bellsprout! Use your Stun Spore to keep all those other metapods still!"

"Go Machop! Get up there and rip the blue Metapod's rope off the tree. I tied it pretty tight, so you'll have to use your impressive strength."

Machop nodded with excitement as he climbed up the tree and began to tug the rope until it broke. At the same time, Bellsprout began to secrete pollen out of her snout which began to raise into the air and stun the green metapods that were striking the blue metapod, who had her eyes closed tightly as she took the pain from the rest of the metapod colony.

"You know, I could have had Growlithe shoot some fire up to singe the rope really easily…" Kyle said as the blue metapod fell to Zack's arms comfortably. "It would have saved your Machop some work."

"Think about that for a second…having your FIRE pokemon come out into a forest of BUG pokemon, and shoot fire at a tree full of metapods…and we're trying to keep things quiet right?" Zack spoke as he called back his Machop.

"Oh yeah…" Kyle laughed at himself, "I suppose that would have been a slightly bad idea."

"So what are we going to do with this one?" Zack asked as he held the Metapod that still seemed terrified. It shivered in the trainers arms.

"Apparently it's not safe for her here, so we should go find a vacant tree somewhere." Kyle suggested.

The boys began walking away from the tree as Zack carried the Metapod. It seemed impossible to find a tree for the blue Metapod as the boys had stepped into a colony of many metapods and kakunas that were all over the branches dangling as they waited to evolve.

As the trainers walked tenderly looking for a safe place for the Shiny pokemon, their silence was once again interrupted, but this time it was by the sound of a very loud chainsaw turning on in the distance. Kyle and Zack whirled around to see many trees fall not too far from where they were.

"What on earth is going on over there?" Kyle asked. "Surely someone isn't stupid enough to cause such ruckus in Viridian Forest! Don't they know the dangers of causing too much of a fuss here?"

"Let's check it out." Zack said as he rushed towards the falling trees.

"And what about the Metapod you're holding?" Kyle interjected questionably as he followed his friend. "Probably not the best idea to…oh whatever, we're almost there anyway."

The two boys rushed towards the falling trees which was at the same time growing closer to them. The trainers had to duck to avoid swarming Beedrills and rushing Weedles as they reached the sight where the person was cutting down trees, as the mass chaos was attracting many poisonous pokemon and scaring away many of the more harmless caterpies. The boys were very shocked at the individuals they saw once they reached the site of chaos, and they immediately wished that they had run the other way.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it boys?" Mimic, the brilliant Mr. Mime from Team Oblivion with the ability to speak had a malicious smile on his face. "I believe last time we met I almost was able to steal your Shiny Growlithe and Machop. I hadn't come to this forest looking for them, but it's very fortunate for us that we ran into you too. We'll just have to consider this an unfinished transaction!"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Zack took a few steps back. "Team Oblivion! You must have come here tracking this Shiny Metapod!"

"You got that right!" Shade, number 10 of the Tenacious Ten spoke as he turned off his chainsaw and looked at the blue Metapod with greedy ambition. "Mimic, use your Imprison Ray and get us that beautiful specimen!"

"Don't you dare order me around like a normal pokemon!" Mimic lashed out with his words towards Shade. "You're already on thin ice for losing to these fools earlier. Don't you dare forget that, the boss expects big results from you to make up for your dishonorable shortcomings! Or do I have to remind you of what NORMALLY happens to those that fail in the Tenacious Ten."

"Those were extenuating circumstances…" Shade murmured with his head sinking a bit, "Who knew that Lucian's boy would have been there with a powerful psychic pokemon. Besides, I wasn't ORDERING you to do anything, I'm just saying between the two of us, you're the one that can snag pokemon….so do your job already, and stop snapping at me as if you were something better than me!"

"I am something better then you…" Mimic spoke as his eyes glowed a rainbow tint as a multi-colored orb formed in his hands, "And don't you forget it! Go Imprison Ray!"

The prism of light shot towards Zack and the blue Metapod. Zack tried to turn around and take the beam's impact, but the ray simply zoomed up and around the athletic pokemon trainer and then shot down to hit the blue metapod. The pokemon was then surrounded in a rainbow barrier and was psychically moved closer to Shade and Mimic.

"Hey!" Zack yelled at Team Oblivion, "Give us back Metapod! You guys can't do this, it's just not right!"

"Haven't you learned yet?" Shade said with a malicious smile. "We're the bad guys!"

"Haven't YOU learned yet," Kyle spoke as he withdrew a pokeball from the back of his belt. "don't worry Metapod! We'll get you out, we have a history now of putting these guys in their place. It won't be long!"

Metapod cried out in her own language from the barrier as she tried to roll into it to break free. The attempts were all for nothing, as the barrier seemed impenetrable. Mimic gave the blue pokemon a glare as he yelled back at her.

"Stop your panicked babbling! You're loud and annoying, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Let's go!" Kyle challenged Mimic as he and Zack stepped forward each holding a pokeball, ready to battle.

"Please!" Mimic laughed at the boys, "Are you to assume I am like any mere average pokemon you have been acquainted with? A being as extraordinary as me only battles in the rarest of circumstances, and this is not one of them. Shade, have fun with these two kiddos. They shouldn't put up much of a fight, especially since they knew that they can't bring out their two best pokemon…oh that's right boys, I trust you know what happens the minute I see that red Growlithe or golden Machop, yes?"

"Lucky for us we have other pokemon that will be more than enough for scum like you people!" Zack spoke as he gritted his teeth. "Show them no mercy Mankey!"

"Make me proud, Eevee!" Kyle called out as he threw his pokeball. "Let's free that Metapod!"

The two pokemon appeared next to their trainers and growled at Mimic and Shade. Shade snapped his fingers and his Beedrill flew down to join the battle scene. The boys noticed that behind Shade were many pokemon that had fainted in battle with the Beedrill. Apparently many of the wild pokemon were not pleased with the silver spikey haired man disturbing their peace and had tried to handle him accordingly…Beedrill appeared to be great protection.

"I suppose a two on one fight won't be fair." Shade said with his evil grin as he threw off his white jacket. "Allow me to show you my strongest pokemon! It truly is a pity that I can't have my rematch against that other fellow that was with you back at Mt. Grain with the purple Abra…I had hoped to reveal my best warrior to him personally, but I suppose that will come in the not to distant future. Shatter their skulls, Pinsir!"

The beetle pokemon with sharp pinchers on his head appeared in front of Shade. It glared at Eevee and Mankey with murderous intent. Eevee backed up a little bit in fright as Mankey glared back, ready for another fight.

"Come on Eevee!" Kyle encouraged his pokemon, "Stay strong out there…I know you can do it!"

"I feel the need to exercise my full might." Shade spoke calmly, "You with the blonde hair and red hoodie…go ahead and call out your Bellsprout too…remember this isn't an honorable pokemon battle, when I beat all of your pokemon I fully intend on stealing your Growlithe, Machop, and this blue Metapod too. There is no sense in playing fair here boys, use everything you have so I can quickly show you that it's far from enough."

"Well, you asked for it!" Kyle cracked a grin as he pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "Grow Bellsprout!"

Kyle and Zack's three pokemon lined up to prepare to fight Beedrill and Pinsir. Shade's pokemon readied themselves to cause as much damage as possible. Metapod cowered in fear as she watched Kyle and Zack's pokemon fight to save her.

"Do you have some kind of plan here?" Zack asked his team mate, "I'm definitely open for suggestions!"

"Bellsprout let's take out that Beedrill first! Grab it with your Vine Whip! When he grabs the pokemon, use Tackle, Eevee! Zack, could use the extra muscle!"

"You heard him, Mankey!" Zack ordered, "When Beedrill is subdued land yourself a powerful Karate Chop!"

Bellsprout obeyed and launched powerful and swift vines towards the Beedrill who tried to dodged, but was ensnared. Eevee and Mankey exchanged ready looks and nodded to each other before they ran at high speeds to Tackle and Karate Chop the Beedrill, who looked in fear at the incoming pokemon.

"Pinsir, do your thing!" Shade called out.

The strong bug pokemon leapt into battle and instantly cut through Bellsprout's vines and then with one swift motion swung his hard claws to attack both Eevee and Mankey at the same time with a vicious and sharp Headbutt. Bellsprout cried out in pain as her vines descended back, while Eevee and Mankey fell into a tree harshly.

"Beedrill, use Fury Attack on that pathetic Eevee!" Shade ordered now, having the upper hand. "And Pinsir, use Guillotine on that Mankey!"

Beedrill flew to Eevee and began spearing the pokemon with his sharp drills for arms. The small furry pokemon let out painful and horrified cries as the spears rapidly hit his head. Meanwhile Pinsir ran to a shocked Mankey, grabbed the pig monkey with his giant claw and began to tighten his grip. Metapod cried softly as she watched the pokemon losing in her name. The blue pokemon cowered in shame as she realized she could do nothing to help from within the barrier.

"Bellsprout, help free Mankey from that Pinsir!" Kyle called out, horrified at how their pokemon were being bested. "Use Vine Whip!"

Before Bellsprout could react, the Pinsir tossed the Mankey into the vine pokemon and knocked both opponents out. Meanwhile, Eevee was being beaten down quite literally to his knees by the vicious Beedrill. The trainers looked at each other realizing that they were defeated. Their pokemon were done, and they couldn't summon their strongest allies because the boys knew that Mimic would instantly snatch them up.

On the other side of the field Shade and Mimic smiled to each other as they smelled a nearby victory. This was Shade's favorite part, when the trainers became desperate and summoned their Shiny pokemon only to have to watch them being taken away by the very talented and powerful Mimic.

Metapod watched in horror as Bellsprout and Mankey laid motionless and Eevee continued to get beaten down by Beedrill. Finally something snapped in the Shiny pokemon, She began to harden her skin to an incredibly high level, and with all her might, Metapod used Tackle on the barrier. Nearby, Mimic let out a yell of mental pain, as the blue Metapod broke through the Imprison Ray.

Stunned at the amazing power of the Shiny pokemon, Mimic and the trainers watched as the Metapod launched itself at Beedrill in another powerful tackle. With one hit, the Beedrill was knocked out.

"Alright Metapod, way to go!" Zack leapt with joy!"

"Thanks so much for saving my Eevee!" Kyle spoke with a smile.

Their celebration was cut short, when Shade sent another order to his pokemon.

"Pinsir, use Vice Grip on Metapod…make her wish that she had stayed in that barrier! These stupid pokemon NEVER choose the less painful option…"

Pinsir obeyed and ran to the cocoon pokemon and grabbed it and began to clench Metapod tightly with his claws. Metapod grunted in pain as he tried to wiggle free to no avail. Finally the pokemon cried out with one loud panic shriek and began to glow in a bright green hue. The trainers (and Mimic) watched in amazement as Metapod began to evolve. The light surrounding the pokemon was blindingly bright.

"Oh no…" Shade muttered. "This really isn't good…Mimic hurry up and put that pokemon in your hold again!"

"I can't!" Mimic cried out, "It won't work right now!"

Within moments, the Metapod had turned into a beautiful golden Butterfree with blue eyes and sparkling wings. Pinsir had let go of the Vice Grip in shock of the evolution, and was defenseless to prevent the newly evolved Pokemon's powerful Gust that sent the bug flying into a tree. With one move, Pinsir had been defeated and laid with swirls in his eyes and unable to move.

"No way are we going to be beat by an ugly Butterfree!" Mimic yelled out in fury as he readied another Imprison Ray. "Take this, maggot!"

Butterfree turned around with rage and shot out a Psy Beam that completely shattered the rainbow ray and smacked Mimic in the face. The Mr. Mime shook his head and cursed loudly. The boys were stunned to hear such words come out of a pokemon's mouth.

"I'm done here." Mimic yelled in frustrated defeat. "You've failed AGAIN Shade, and this time for the last time! We're teleporting out of here, and you'll have the boss to answer too!"

"No wait, anything but that!" Shade now looked as scared as the Metapod did not too long ago. "I don't want to deal with Mr. L…."

Before Shade could complete his statement, he and Mimic were teleported away in a flash of blue light. Both the boys wondered what would happen to Shade, who this Mr. L was, and if they'd ever be rid permanently of Mimic and his threat of stealing their Pokemon. However, in this moment, the trainers were grateful that they had survived the battle with all their pokemon still safe. Kyle and Zack called back their injured pokemon and ran over and gave the Butterfree a big hug.

"Thanks so much for saving us!" They celebrated with the Butterfree who cried out in joy.

"You look awesome!" Kyle called out. "Look at these wings, and those eyes! Man, what a powerful pokemon!"

"What do you say you come with me on my journey?" Zack asked as he held open an empty pokeball. "We'd love to have you on the team!"

Butterfree simply shook her head as she flew up and down. Zack nodded with slight disappointment and understanding.

"So you want to stay here, cause Viridian Forest is your home isn't it? That's cool…at the very least could you take us out of this forest maze and to Pewter City, Butterfree?"

The butterfly pokemon squealed with joy as she flew quickly to the east. The boys rushed to keep up with the swift Butterfree. Within a matter of minutes the bug pokemon led them to the exit of Viridian City that led to Pewter City. They thanked the pokemon and readied themselves to be able to engage in their first gym battle.


	15. Forrest: The Iron Fist of Pewter City

**A Note from the Author: ** Here we are! Kyle and Zack's first gym battle! I wanted this chapter to be semi climatic so I hope you enjoy the fact that it's a little bit longer and slightly more "epic" then the others. I want to thank everyone who has been reading my story, it has really had a lot of views and I think that's so cool. A special thanks to **XxDark-WriterXx** who has been reviewing every chapter and **imminentpursuit** who has been giving me plenty of great writing advice that hopefully make this a better story for you all to read!

Now, a couple of disclaimers: Obviously I don't own Pokemon. The story and many of the characters are original, but some of them aren't (Forrest, the gym leader of today's chapter is NOT an original.) Also please note a slight change I've made, this story will not only include Generation 1 Pokemon. Thanks to observant readers we realized that things happening 10 years after Ash's journey would dictate that other pokemon that are past Generation 1 would be running around...so you may see more then the original 151 from this point out!

**Enough of me babbling, onto what you actually came here to read! Enjoy and please let me know what you think. Ciao!**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Forrest: The Iron Fist of Pewter City**

Kyle and Zack sat patiently in the Pewter City pokemon center as their pokemon were recovering within their pokeballs at the counter. After the last battle in Viridian City with Team Oblivion, the trainers knew that their pokemon companions needed proper recovery as they had been through quite the ordeal. As they waited, Kyle and Zack readied themselves for their first gym battle on Kanto. The two trainers looked up at the TV screen near the front counter as they watched a Pewter City breaking news special.

On TV they saw a Geodude fall to the ground, unable to battle. The camera zoomed out and Kyle and Zack saw a very familiar purple Abra. The narrator spoke as Draco Lucian summoned back his pokemon without even looking at the gym leader or the camera.

"**Yesterday, the Pokemon community witnessed yet another stunning victory for Draco Lucian, a wealthy boy from Grain Island. This most recent win was over Pewter's City Gym Leader, the Iron Fist, Forrest. Little is known about this kid apart from the fact that he has an extraordinarily powerful and purple Abra and he has never lost a match. We of the Pewter City news crew have high hopes for Draco, considering him one of the most promising young trainers that Kanto has seen in quite some time."**

"I saw that boy aboard the S.S Olivia right before Team Oblivion sunk it." A random man in the pokemon center spoke, as a small crowd gathered to watch the TV. "He battled many trainers and it was unreal how he dominated them all, even though most were way older and more experienced then Lucian. Take note guys, I think we may be looking at a real strong contender in the next Pokemon League Tournament."

"Hey!" Zack got up and spoke harshly at the man. "I was on that ship too, you know! Didn't you see the battle and Draco had? It was pretty even up until the point that Team Oblivion showed up…but nobody's talking about how awesome that is. Oh, and did you happen to stick around long enough to see my boy Kyle here BEAT the 9th officer of the Tenacious Ten? Where's his NEWS story, huh? Come on people! Trust me, Draco Lucian isn't anything to write home about!"

The people just chuckled as they shook their head in disbelief towards Zack. He rolled his eyes and slumped back down next to Kyle, frustrated that his rival was getting all the glory. As Kyle waited patiently and Zack moped, Nurse Joy returned with their pokeballs and a cheerful smile.

"All your pokemon are all healed and ready to go!" she said with a very perky voice. "Am I to assume that you are two trainers about to take on our Gym Leader, Forrest?"

"We sure are." Kyle said, excitement radiating from him. "Hey Nurse Joy, is there anything you can tell us about this guy? You know, any hints before we go into battle with him?"

"Forrest comes from a family of very strong gym leaders." Nurse Joy spoke, "His dad was a strong trainer and eventually took over the gym, and his older brother Brock is this city's best known Pokemon breeder, trainer, and gym leader. He's kind of a legend around here, even though he doesn't live in Pewter City any longer. Forrest is no slouch though, he's inherited all the best things from his family and is a suburb trainer. I hear that during gym battles Forrest uses the two pokemon that Brock used to battle with and that he's trained them to be so tough that they literally can't take damage. Of course challengers often don't believe me when I tell them that, but you'll see what I mean soon enough."

"There's always a way to win." Zack said as he stood up, with fire in his eyes, "And me and Kyle are going to find it!"

"Thanks for the heads up Nurse Joy." Kyle said as the boys left the pokemon center, "We'll be sure to watch out for that whole…invincible…thing."

The trainers walked out of the pokemon center doors and walked on the cold hard grey rock road that was a major land mark in Pewter City. The houses were made of hard grey stone and the entire village was surrounded by massive mountains, as it located in the same mountain range at Mt. Moon. Kyle found the city to look incredibly boring as everywhere he looked he saw white, grey, or black stones. The people seemed quite and kept to themselves as they quietly walked by the two trainers that looked around town for the gym. Finally, Kyle and Zack found themselves in front of the large rectangular building that was one massive slab of Pewter stone. It was very obvious that this was where they needed to be because carved into the stone very neatly were the words "Pewter Gym."

"This is it…" Zack said as he took a deep breath. "This time, we're going to enter a gym and actually have a battle with a leader! Viridian City is known as the last gym that trainers visit before entering the Pokemon League…but Pewter City is known as the first place trainers go."

"Good luck, Zack." Kyle said as he held tightly to his pokeball containing Growlithe. "We have come to far already to lose in our first gym battle."

The boys entered the gym and found themselves standing in a large dark room. They could not see anything at all. It was cold in the pitch black room, as they were literally standing in a giant hollowed out piece of stone.

"Growlithe come out and give us some light!" Kyle spoke as he summoned his pokemon.

As Growlithe appeared and created warm embers in his mouth, the boys heard a voice from the other side of the room.

"Welcome trainers." The deep male voice spoke. "You're here for a Gym Battle, I presume?"

The overhead lights filled the room as the man spoke. Kyle and Zack observed that they stood on a giant and rocky arena with much elevated terrain as if they were standing outside in the mountains. The boys looked at the man in his early twenties, who was very tall, muscular, tan, had very squinty eyes that practically appeared to be closed, and spikey black hair. He wore a blue sleeveless shirt and dark brown shorts. As he stood in front of them like a mountain of a man, the trainer crossed his arms and observed the trainers.

"Are you Forrest, the Gym Leader here?" Kyle asked.

"And please, be honest." Zack added, "We don't want to battle any kids of the gym leader today…we're looking for the real thing."

"Then you've come to the right place." Forrest's voice echoed in the hollow room. "I accept your challenge for the Pewter City gym badge, and now will dictate the parameters of our match. As I am dealing with two trainers and have two pokemon, I will battle each of you in a 1 on 1 pokemon battle. I don't imagine it will take long for me to win, as my pokemon are very well trained and very difficult to overcome."

"1 on 1 battles eh?" Kyle spoke as he stepped up to the challenger corner. "I'll go first then! I hate to let you down, Forrest, but I don't intend on losing! For my one pokemon, I choose Growlithe!"

Forrest moved over to stand in the leader corner and pulled out a pokeball, as Kyle beckoned his Growlithe to stand in the arena.

"An unfortunate choice to battle my pokemon." Forrest threw his pokeball as he continued to talk. "Break him, Geodude!"

"Not a great start…" Zack conversed from behind Kyle, "His rock pokemon against your fire pokemon."

"Growlithe can handle Geodude, I know it!" Kyle encouraged his pokemon. "Growlithe start things off with a Tackle!"

"Geodude let him hit you." Forrest calmly ordered. "It's time we prove ourselves to this young trainer."

Growlithe lunged forward and collided with Geodude, who showed no sign of pain whatsoever. He simply spoke calmly in his own dialogue, almost as to taunt Growlithe.

"That's one." Forrest pointed his index finger up, "I'll give you two more free shots before I order Geodude to attack back. It's important for you to know that I have trained Geodude's defense so much that he is for all practical purposes invincible. You won't be able to hurt him."

"That's impossible!" Kyle retorted at the Gym Leader, "Growlithe prove him wrong, use your Bite attack!"

Growlithe once again rushed Geodude and bit down hard on the pokemon's rocky exterior. The dog whimpered as he jumped back and shook his head. Growlithe clearly hurt his teeth in attempt to hurt the pokemon.

"No luck huh?" Kyle observed, "And you have pretty sharp teeth too…man, this Geodude does seem to have great defenses! Let's try a different approach! Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!"

"If you're keeping count, that Bite attack was number 2." Forrest spoke casually as he now held up two fingers. "And my Geodude isn't phased at all."

Growlithe leapt backwards, took a deep breath, and spat out a giant surge of fire that made the figure of a wheel. The flame hit Geodude who closed his eyes as the fire hit him, but still didn't look to effected by the blaze. Kyle was stunned at this Geodude, and the thought crossed his mind…_Is this Geodude really invincible?"_

"That was our best attack!" Kyle spoke softly, "And that Geodude just took the fire like it was nothing!"

"And that's three…" Forrest said with a pleased smile. He was very proud of his Geodude's powerful defense, and often reminded his pokemon of that fact. "OK, challenger…it's my turn! Let's move to the offensive, Geodude! Use Rock Throw!"

Geodude hopped over to a large boulder and punched it very hard, creating many medium sized rocks. He proceeded then to start chucking the rocks at Growlithe, grunting after each hefty throw.

"Growlithe, dodge!" Kyle called out in a hurry, knowing the rocks would really hurt his puppy pokemon. "I don't know what we can do if none of our attacks can hurt Geodude…but we definitely shouldn't get beat up!"

Growlithe moved swiftly to the right and to the left, easily evading each boulder that was chucked in his direction. Kyle found himself hesitating unsure as to what command to give next, believing Geodude couldn't be hurt. The trainer watched his pokemon beginning to slow down as it dodge rocks, and knew that he had to come up with something soon otherwise Growlithe would begin to feel some real pain, really quickly. It was at that exact moment, that Geodude begin to have embers appear on his body. He began to winced slightly as he dropped one of the rocks and felt the effects of being burned.

"Look Growlithe!" Kyle called out in relief and surprise, "Your flame wheel must have injured Geodude!"

"Come on Kyle, you KNOW Geodude isn't invincible!" Zack cheered his friend on, "Remember earlier today? We saw on TV that Draco Lucian beat this Geodude, and if HE can do it, then we know you can too!"

"You heard him, Growlithe." Kyle said as he regained his confidence, "I want you to hit him with all the fire you got! Use Flame Wheel again!"

Growlithe obediently began to breathe fire and refused to let up. The flames overtook Geodude who now was showing signs of being in immense pain as he suffered from his burn and the damage from Fire Wheel. Within a matter of moments, the rock pokemon that levitated over the ground fell and crashed into the floor, unconscious, as smoke lifted from his burnt body.

"Geodude!" Forrest called out in concern of his pokemon. "Man, that was a good match…come back and take a long rest!"

Forrest called back his pokemon and walked through the rocky arena to Kyle and shook his hand as he pulled a tiny silver badge out of his pocket and handed it to the trainer.

"You certainly showed great talent and strength in that match, Kyle." Forrest spoke with a warm smile. "It's my pleasure to award you the Pewter City Boulder Badge! I hope this badge is the first of many that you collect, and I have much confidence in you as a trainer, friend!"

"Thanks so much!" Kyle showed his appreciation and respect to the gym leader, "That was a great battle…I've never seen a Geodude that strong before."

"He's been with our family for a while." Forrest said as he looked down at his Geodude's pokeball proudly, "He's got a lot of experience, that's for sure."

* * *

The trainers and gym leader took a thirty minute break from battling and after the time was up, Zack made his way to the challenger square of the arena, as Forrest returned to the leader square.

"You know the drill, Zack." Forrest said as he pulled out another pokeball. "This will be a 1 on 1 match, and if you win you get the same badge that Kyle received. I hope you're ready for a challenge. I'll be using my family's strongest pokemon for this one!"

"That's probably a good idea," Zack said confidently as he threw his pokeball. "because I'll be using my very strongest one too! Bust them up, Machop!"

"Wow, both of you have Shiny pokemon!" Forrest stood fascinated for a minute. "I am quite impressed, you must be remarkable trainers. That Machop's golden skin is absolutely amazing!"

"My name is Zack Porter, and this is my trusted buddy Machop." Zack said with a confident smile. "And you're looking at two of the next Pokemon Champions here, bring out your best and I hope it gives Machop a challenge."

"Very well," Forrest threw his pokeball. "Break them, Steelix."

As the pokemon appeared at of the red surge that came from the pokeball, both Zack and Kyle stared in astonishment at the large metal snake. On Kanto it was very rare to see a steel type other than Magnemite, so aside from the books and TV…this was the first Steelix that either of the boys had ever actually seen. The steel snake extended his body to stretch out and looked down ferociously at his opponent as he towered over Machop. Machop showed no signs of fear or intimidation, but simply glared back at Steelix, ready to battle.

"That's right, Machop!" Zack was very proud of his tough pokemon. "There's no room for being scared here. He may be big, but you can take that Steelix!"

"You should know that I train my pokemon very differently." Forrest spoke seriously, "Geodude was all about defense but I use Steelix for heavy hitting. Your Machop better be ready for some pain!"

"We're always ready!" Zack gritted his teeth, "Machop, use Low Kick now!"

Machop lunged forward and extended his foot to kick Steelix. Before the impact could occur, Forrest gave an order to his pokemon.

"Steelix, use bind now!"

The metal snake abided and wrapped tightly around Machop. The fighting pokemon struggled to get out of the hard trap, but was unable to break free.

"Tighten your grip and break that Machop!" Forrest continued his order. "Let's finish this quickly."

"Machop use Karate Chop on Steelix's body!"

As the golden pokemon chopped Steelix, the impact of the hit was so hard that the arena shook. Forrest's eyes widened with surprise as Steelix gritted his teeth in pain. The pokemon still held tightly to Machop's body.

"Keep using Karate Chop!" Zack called out to his pokemon.

Four more times, Machop struck the large steel body as hard as he could. The fighting pokemon was barely able to breathe so each hit took a toll on his own body. Steelix cried out in pain as Forrest noticed that his pokemon's hold on Machop was loosening.

"Steelix, chuck Machop into that rock over there!" Forrest pointed to a nearby boulder.

The metal snake gave a deep roar as he used his large steel body to throw the muscular gold pokemon into a boulder. As Machop's body collided with the rock, it shattered on top of him. Zack let out a cry of concern as his pokemon his the stone hard. Machop slowly rose to his feet and shook of the pain.

"Machop, are you okay?" Zack asked with concern, "That was a brutal blow there!"

Machop looked back at his trainer and nodded his head, determination burning in his eyes. Zack nodded back and prepared for the next attack.

"Alright then, let's try another Low Kick again, Machop! That Steelix will think twice before wrapping around you this time!"

Forrest nodded his head, expecting the same strategy. "Steelix, counter the Low Kick with an Iron Tail!"

Machop flew towards the air with his foot pointed forward, ready to collide with the Steelix. At the same time, Forrest's pokmeon's tail began to glow white as it hardened. The metal snake swung his enormous body towards Machop and the two attacks created an exactly balanced impact that created a seismic wave which destroyed nearby rocks. Machop hopped backwards, did a back flip and landed on his feet. He breathed heavily, showing slight fatigue from that last attack. Steelix also moved backwards shaking his head as the pokemon recovered from damage.

"Machop you're good there." Zack said, "Take a breath and prepare yourself, thankfully it doesn't seem like that Steelix has any major ranged attacks we need to worry about!"

"Steelix…" Forrest's voice shared his intent of finishing the battle, "End things for that Machop with Dragon Breath."

"Uh oh…" Kyle spoke from the sidelines, "I definitely didn't see that coming!"

A large vortex of wind began to swirl in Steelix's mouth as he powered up the attack. Within moments, the pokemon unleashed the devastating dragon attack towards Machop. Zack stepped forward urgently and yelled out to his Machop.

"Quickly Machop, move out of the way!"

Unfortunately Zack was too late. Machop attempted to move but was hit hard on the left side of his body and flipped around and crashed into the ground. All three trainers began to think the match was over, as Machop laid there motionless.

"Well, that's that…" Forrest spoke slowly, sad that he couldn't award a badge to the brave trainer. "Zack, that was a great…."

Forrest's statement was cut short, as Machop slowly began to stagger to his feet. His entire body quivered as the pokemon refused to give up. He struggled to stay standing, as Machop gripped his left arm with his right. One of Machop's eyes was closed tightly as he winced in pain.

"Dang Machop!" Zack spoke softly, "Haven't you had enough? I know you've given it your best, this is just a really tough pokemon!"

Machop shook his head, not accepting defeat yet. The fighting pokemon glared at his adversary with the intent of wanting to continue the battle.

"Your pokemon isn't done yet." Forrest observed, "How about you Zack?"

"If Machop can keep going then so can I!" Zack said with a proud smile. "OK Machop, let's try something new, are you ready buddy?'

Machop nodded slowly as his body ached. Forrest shook his head and pointed at Machop as he ordered his Steelix.

"Don't give him the chance Steelix, end things with an Iron Tail!"

"Machop, grab that tail and use Seismic Toss!" Zack called out.

"When did Machop learn Seismic Toss?" Kyle asked from the sidelines.

Zack turned and spoke to his friend, as Machop caught the large tail of Steelix. "He's going to learn it right now…OK Machop, start twirling that massive pokemon around!"

Machop begun to spin slowly as he breathed heavily, holding the massive pokemon. Momentum and adeline kicked in for Machop as he continued to spin, and he moved faster and faster. Steelix began to feel dizzy and slightly sick as he spun around uncontroably. After a few moments of this, Zack yelled out to his pokemon.

"OK Machop, now let go!"

Machop obey and the result was throwing the massive metal snake into the large stone wall of Pewter Gym. The impact of Steelix colliding with the wall left a massive indent on the gym, as the pokemon fell to the ground unconscious. After seeing his victory, Machop fell to the ground in exhaustion, with a big smile on his face. Zack called back his pokemon and complimented him.

"Great job Machop, that was unreal! You really outdid yourself this time, thanks so much!"

"What a match!" Kyle ran to his friend and gave him a high five. "I've never seen Machop fight like that, it was amazing!"

"I agree, it has been quite sometime since I've participated in such a vigorous battle." Forrest commented as he withdrew another Boulder Badge, walked over to Zack, and handed it to him. "Zack Porter, I am truly honored to award you this Boulder Badge as well. That match was truly spectacular!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it seemed I got the easy match there!" Kyle jokingly said as the boys both looked at their shiny new badges.

"Both you boys had hard matches against my pokemon," Forrest spoke as he led the trainers outside the gym. "Be proud of your victory and move on to the next gym. Your journey will not get any easier as you progress through Kanto but I have high hopes for you two as Pokemon Trainers if you encounter every obstacle with the same rock hard determination that you showed me today."


	16. Pewter Pond Pokemon Exhibition Part I

**A Note From The Author:** _Hi everyone, I'm back with a new chapter! I hope have been enjoying the story so far and I want to drop a special thanks to all my readers especially** imminentpursuit and XxDark-WriterXx** for their reviews and help. Its always great to hear what the readers think and I'm always open for feedback, suggestions, and OC's_

_Speaking of Characters, I have an important disclaimer to make now. Everyone knows already that I don't own Pokemon, otherwise we'd be watching this series on TV instead of reading it on fanfiction. And you probably know that most the characters in this series like Kyle and Zack are OC's of mine, and the plot is purely original. HOWEVER what I want to inform you about is the new characters we meet in Chapter 16._

_First of all, let me tell you about **Torick Mandel who is a character from a fanfiction called Kanto written by my friend Number 1-Tribute**. It's a great story and I'd reccomend if you like Torick in this chapter that you go check it out and drop a review!_

_Also, we'll be meeting two OC's in this chapter (that will play a bigger part in the next two chapters) named** Alexander and Anysha Astor**. These characters are both OC's made for this story by **Imminentpursuit**. I think you all will really like them cause they're super cool characters!_

_Well, that's it, I just wanted to give credit where credit is due...I hope you really enjoy this chapter, Ciao!_

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Pewter Pond Pokemon Exhibition Part I**

Kyle and Zack left Pewter City early the next morning proud of their shiny new Boulder Badges, and ready to take on the rest of the world. They began traveling up the rocky and elevated route 3 on the way to Mt. Moon. As they traveled uphill, the boys began to get hungry and took a break and sat to eat lunch. The trainers conversed casually as they ate their ham sandwiches and fed their pokemon Oran berries.

"Hey Kyle, I wonder what the Cerulean City's gym is going to be like?" Zack pondered as the two boys ate. "Not many people in Gladus become pokemon trainers. And of the few that do, hardly any ever leave Mt. Grain. Me and my brother, Skyler, are among the few that I know back home with aspirations of collecting all 8 badges and participating in the Pokemon League Tournament. They never really talk about Gym Leaders and stuff back home, so all this that's happening to us here on mainland Kanto…it's new territory for me!"

Kyle laid back against a large rock as he thought about Zack's words. "Crimson Town isn't much known for raising trainers itself, more people there become Pokemon researchers like Professor Davis. Well…"

Kyle paused and thought about it for a moment. Zack leaned in due to suspense but became restless with Kyle's silence.

"Well what?" Zack impatiently asked with his mouth full of ham sandwich. "You can't do that pensive pause stuff with me when we're having conversations like this."

"Well, the only trainer from Crimson Town that is known to journey to mainland Kanto, beat the eight gym leaders and become a great pokemon trainer was my father…And nobody really knows what happened to him. Back home everyone honors him as one of the best trainers in the world, but he left home when I was four so I never really got to know that for sure. Part of the reason I decided to become a trainer is because my dad did it and I selfishly want to follow his footsteps and make it to the top and then maybe one day I can battle him and prove myself not just to him…but to me as well."

"Don't you ever wonder why he left?" Zack asked. "I mean, did anyone back home tell you?"

Kyle shrugged as he thought of the question. "I've heard a number of things. Some people think he was just a jerk, and somehow involved in the Team Rocket Conspiracy that began in the Lucian household and he was just running away from the law. I don't think that's it though. I can't picture my dad being a criminal…not without more proof suggesting it! My mom just tells me that he was a very important man and an amazing Pokemon Trainer. She used to always talk about times when the Elite Four would call him to Mainland Kanto for important jobs. My mom thinks that when I was four my dad left on an Elite Four mission again…but he has never returned, so I am unsure what to make of that."

"We can ask him after you beat him in a pokemon battle and show your dad what a great trainer you've become!" Zack said with a smile as he drank the rest of his soda pop. "Speaking of great trainers…do you think we'll meet Ash Ketchum in Cerulean City?"

"That's right!" Kyle recalled their conversation with Gary Oak in Pallet Town, as Zack changed subjects. "Didn't Gary say that Ash moved to Cerulean City for…marriage?"

"I can't imagine the greatest trainer in Kanto ever getting married…" Zack chuckled at the idea, "But.."

His statement was interrupted by hearing a clash not too far from where the boys were sitting. They looked at each other, curious as to what was going on, summoned back all their pokemon, and rushed up the road towards the racket.

As Kyle and Zack walked over the hill, they saw numerous trainers with their pokemon out. Some were battling each other, others were simply talking with each other, and even others were just watching the massive sight of seeing numerous trainers and many different types of pokemon. Nearby the scene Kyle and Zack noticed a large pokemon center next to the entrance into the cave that went through Mt. Moon.

"What in the world are all these trainers doing here?" Zack asked Kyle as the two looked around at the dozen trainers with their pokemon.

"Could it be some kind of pokemon contest or something?" Kyle wondered as the two boys walked into the pokemon center.

The trainers moved through the bustling center that was full of trainers at computers and sitting in the longue to find Nurse Joy at the front counter.

"Hi there!" Nurse Joy seemed perky and jovial as usual.

"Um hi…" Kyle spoke slowly with uncertainty, still trying to figure out what was going on. "So…what's going on here? Why are there so many trainers gathered here today?"

"Oh we're about to have a little Pokemon Battle exhibition." Nurse Joy said with a smile. "You see once every few months the pokemon center here at the entrance of Mt. Moon holds an exhibition tournament for anyone that has obtained the Pewter City Boulder Badge. It's many just for fun, but we find a lot of trainers take it very seriously. It's a big accomplishment to earn your first badge, and then trainers are always wonder how the fare against other trainers that have overcome the same obstacle…so we find this is a rather big deal here at Mt. Moon!"

"That sounds absolutely amazing!" Zack said with a big competitive smile, "Kyle, we should so enter this!"

"You know it!" Kyle responded, with an equal amount of excitement and competition in his blood. "Sign us up, Nurse Joy!"

"You boys certainly have passion!" Nurse Joy handed the two boys forms to fill out. "Fill these papers out and you guys will be good to go! Each trainer is allowed two pokemon to enter into the tournament. If you only have one, you're not eligible to enter."

The boys sat down near the counter and quickly filled out the paperwork. Once finished, they jumped up and practically threw the papers at Nurse Joy as they barely could contain themselves with excitement.

"Thank you so much…" The nurse spoke as she caught all the papers and made sure they were straight. "Let us put your trainer information into the computer and see who you are paired up against for tomorrow's first matches, shall we?"

"I can't wait to see who I get to face tomorrow!" Zack clinched his fist, eagerly anticipating the results of the random match finder. "Hey Kyle, have you considered the fact that we may get paired off against each other?"

Kyle smiled as he thought about that potential reality. "I would absolutely love that Zack! You know we haven't battled each other since that time at Professor Davis's lab…And if I remember correctly, there was no victor in that match."

"We still don't know who the superior trainer among us is." Zack said competitively, "Well, I would love to go against you at this tournament too! We'd make a great match for these Pewter City people."

The boys looked at the enormous computer screen that made up half of the east wall of the pokemon center. Zack's face was on the left side of the screen and on the right side, they watched as the computer scanned through all the currently matchless trainers to find him a match. After several moments of searching, the boys laid eyes on the trainer profile picture of Zack's opponent.

Her name was Anysha Astor and she was fourteen years old. She had long silver hair that reached her back and a slightly tan complexion. Both boys were taken back a little while staring at the trainer profile picture. Zack found himself blushing a bit.

"Dude…" Kyle said as he stared at her picture, "Your opponent's a babe!"

"Yeah…" Zack said trying to rub off his immediate attraction to Anysha's appearance. "She probably is a lousy trainer though! All looks and no brains I bet, it won't even be a fair fight!"

"Let's see who my opponent is." Kyle started to feel slightly nervous as his trainer profile picture appeared on the left side and the right side began scanning through trainers again.

After moments of suspense, the computer landed on an opponent. Kyle gazed upon the boy he was going to battle. His name was Torick Mandel and he had violet eyes and blonde shaggy hair, similar to Kyle's but lighter. He wore a black and dark grey cap with the indigo half pokemon sign above the beak.

"Hmm…" Kyle said as he looked at the trainer profile. "This Torick guy looks pretty good."

"Eh, you can take him!" Zack said as he gave an encouraging slap on the back to his friend. "Let's go outside and train with the other trainers and prepare for tomorrow!"

Kyle followed Zack out of the pokemon center and the boys let their pokemon loose on Route 3 to begin conditioning, practicing moves, and even battling some of the other trainers that were outside. All this was to get their trusted companions ready for the real deal that happened first thing tomorrow morning.

* * *

Early the next morning all the trainers who either were sleeping in the Mt. Moon pokemon center or camping outside woke up early to engage in the Pewter Pond Pokemon Exhibition Tournament. The staff of the pokemon center led the trainers a little down the hill to Pewter Pond where there was a small arena made up near the pond. The boys sat together in the field and watched the first few matches and had fun watching as many trainers from around the world, all who were proud owners of the Boulder Badge battled their hearts out. Some fights were very one sided, and some were very exciting to watch as they were matched evenly. Finally, it was Kyle's turn to take on his opponent, Torick Mandel

Kyle took another look at the trainer as he stood on the left side of the arena, readying himself for his first round in this pokemon exhibition tournament. Torick had a light grey T shirt under a turquoise long sleeved jacket with a black collar. His dark grey jeans are being held up by a brown belt and on his feet were grey and brown weathered sneakers. The boy held tightly to his first pokeball and Kyle also noticed that he wore black fingerless gloves.

The referee had the two trainers approach the middle of the arena and shake hands before they returned to their sides to start the pokemon battle. Torick smiled kindly as he shook Kyle's hand.

"I'm looking forward to this match." The trainer with the black and grey hat spoke, "I entered the Pewter Gym right after you started your battle the other day. I saw you take on Forrest's Geodude with your Growlithe…and it was a very impressive win! Your Growlithe was very powerful, I hope to have the opportunity to battle it today. My name is Torick Mandel, and I plan to be the world's toughest pokemon trainer!"

"Really?" Kyle responded with a friendly smile, "My name is Kyle Rogers and I am going to be the next Pokemon League Champion…so I'll need to beat a long of tough trainers to get as good as I need to be…so I'm glad we're able to have this match, Torick. Good luck!"

The two trainers returned to their prospective sides and the referee yelled loudly the rules of the match.

"The following will be a 2 on 2 match! The first trainer to defeat two pokemon will be declared the victor!"

"Make me proud, Eevee!" Kyle summoned the newest edition to his pokemon team, and so far the only pokemon he had that had not yet won a battle. "You can do it!"

"Go get em, Nidoran!" Torick called out his female poison pin pokemon.

Nidoran growled ferociously at Eevee, whose eyes still showed a fair amount of fear in the face of battle. Kyle called out to his pokemon.

"Come on Eevee, stay strong! You can win this battle!"

"Where on earth did you find that Eevee?" Torick called out, "That's a pretty rare pokemon you have there!"

"Thanks!" Kyle yelled back to his new rival and friend, "I found him on Route 1 actually! It was a complete coincidence but we bonded quickly after that. Your Nidoran looks really tough!"

"She is!" Torick replied with a proud smile, "Don't let her small and cute appearance fool you. I accidently hit her with my bike and then caught her after a tough pokemon battle. This girl has a serious bite to her! Your Eevee is cute, but I don't think he'll stand much of a chance to my Nidoran."

"Yeah, we'll see!" Kyle readied himself to battle.

"Let the battle begin!" The referee called out as he lowered both his flags.

"Eevee start things off with a Tackle!"

"Nidoran dodge that move and counter attack with your own Tackle!"

Eevee growled as he rushed forward and leapt towards Nidoran, who quickly rolled over to the left and dodged the pokemon's attack. She then jumped into the air and smashed into Eevee harshly, hurting the cute pokemon.

Meanwhile, as the two pokemon battled a particular trainer and her older brother, who was a pokemon professor observed the battle with very interested eyes.

"It is always fascinating to me to watch an Eevee in battle." The professor said as he watched the two young trainers battle. "Don't you agree, Anysha?"

"Please, Alexander!" Anysha responded, "_That_ Eevee is embarrassing himself! I hate to say it, but that trainer clearly doesn't know the first thing about training Eevees. Everyone knows that they aren't like other normal type pokemon."

"Anysha," Alexander shook his head at his younger sister's childish notion. "_You _know this because your older brother happens to be one of the greatest minds in the world when it comes to Eevelution…not _everyone_ knows how to train there Eevee! I'm sure this trainer will figure it out eventually."

"Get up, Eevee!" Kyle called out as his pokemon had just suffered from a vicious double kick from the Nidoran his trainer was using in battle. "Use Sand Attack now!"

Eevee began smacking the ground and throwing dirt in Nidoran's direction, trying to blind the tough pokemon. The blue poison pin pokemon began to shut her eyes and shake her head, trying to get the sand out of her eyes.

"Push through the sand, Nidoran!" Torick instructed his pokemon as he pointed at the Eevee, "I'd guess that Eevee is almost done, rush it and land a devastating bite!"

Nidoran struggled to open her hurting eyes and began rushing towards Eevee, jumped forward, and landed a very painful bite at the opposing pokemon's neck. Eevee cried out in pain and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Eevee is unable to battle!" The referee called out as he pointed a flag in Torick's direction. "Kyle is down to only one pokemon, while Torick still has two."

"Eevee, return!" Kyle opened his pokeball and Eevee turned into a bright red light that returned to the pokeball. "You fought hard, Eevee...that Nidoran is no slouch though! We'll find you an opponent that you can eventually beat."

"I'm a little under impressed." Torick taunted Kyle with a shrug, "When I saw that were paired off in this exhibition I was exited to fight some tough pokemon, but if that Eevee is an example of what you're team is like…I guess I should be grateful for a fairly easy first match."

"You wanted to see my Growlithe earlier didn't you?" Kyle gave Torick a slightly frustrated look as his taunting sunk into the trainer's brain and feelings. "Well, look no further…Let's go Growlithe!"

Kyle threw his pokeball and the Growlithe with bright red fur appeared and barked fericously at the Nidoran, who continued to growl at her opponents. There was much murmuring in the audience as everyone laid eyes on the oddly colored Growlithe. Among the murmuring Professor Alexander stood next to his sister and gazed in amazement at the trainers pokemon.

"Look Anysha, that kid has a shiny Growlithe!"

"Phew, that pokemon certainly looks a little odd doesn't he?" Anysha observed Kyle's Growlithe. "So that's a shiny pokemon eh? Everyone always talks about how rare and special they are…I never really understood why, so that Growlithe is red instead of orange…big deal?"

"Just you wait…" Alexander spoke with much enthusiasm. "If what I read from the great expert in Shiny pokemon, Professor Davis, is true…I'd say that Growlithe is probably very powerful!"

Meanwhile, back on the battle scene…

"That's more like it!" Torick smiled with satisfaction as he gazed upon the powerful Growlithe. "Now we can really kick things into high gear for this battle! Nidoran, use Bite!"

Nidoran ran very swiftly towards Growlithe glaring at her enemy with the intent to gravely harm him.

"Growlithe, use Roar now!" Kyle called out.

The puppy obeyed, and let lose a very powerful and loud bark that shook nearby bushes and sent the tiny Niodran flying backwards and hitting the ground. The light blue pokemon grunted and shook her head as she slowly got up.

"Now Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!" Kyle called out.

"Nidoran jump through the flame wheel to land a Bite on that Growlithe!"

Growlithe began to let lose flame in a circular shape towards the tiny Nidoran who tried to leap through the fire, but failed miserably. The flame hit Nidoran hard and the pokemon fell to the ground unconscious.

"Niodran is unable to battle!" The referee yelled at the top of his lungs for the crowd of trainers and Pewter City citizens to hear. "Each trainer is down to one pokemon each."

"Oh that almost worked!" Torick spoke softly to his pokemon as he called Nidoran back, "We'll work on that for next time…good job, take a nice long Nidoran!"

"Good job, Growlithe!" Kyle complimented his starter pokemon, "I knew I could count on you! Let's not get to comfortable yet, buddy…we still have one more pokemon to beat so stay alert!"

"That was pretty impressive Kyle!" Torick complimented the trainer. "I take back my earlier comment about you having weak pokemon."

"It's cool!" Kyle forgave the trainer with a smile, "Eevee's my newest pokemon and still has a lot of work to do, I'll admit it…but Growlithe here has been with me since the start, and won't be a easy pokemon to beat…I promise you that!"

"Good." Torick replied as he pulled out his second pokeball. "Well, it's time for _your_ starter pokemon to meet _my_ starter pokemon. I choose you, Squirtle!"

"Uh oh, that's a water pokemon." Kyle muttered as the very tough looking Squirtle appeared and put his fists up in a fighting position. "You ready Growlithe? Let's finish this!"

Growlithe nodded with determination and barked at the opposing pokemon who glared back at him. The two pokemon paced in a circle around each other, each waiting for their trainer to give an order.

"Squirtle, use Bubble!" Torick called out.

"Blow the bubbles away with Roar, Growlithe!" Kyle ordered.

Both pokemon obeyed. Squirtle launched many blue bubbles towards Growlithe who let out another massive bark that sent the bubbles flying away and intended on sending Squirtle flying away too. Torick however was prepared for this strategy.

"Not this time, Kyle." He said with a smile, "Squirtle, use Withdraw now!"

Without a second thought, Squirtle popped his head, arms, and legs into his hard shell as the Roar began to send him flying. The shell was sent flying into a large rock and then bounced against the rock and ricocheted towards a tree, bounced off of the tree and then flew towards Growlithe who had temporary paused to take a deep breath after the Roar attack. As he was catching his breath, Growlithe was hit violently in the head by Squirtle who was protected in his shell. Growlithe fell to the ground in pain as he struggled to make it back to his feet.

"Squirtle, keep the offense going with a Tackle attack!" Torick called out to his water pokemon.

"Growlithe counter with a Flame Wheel!" Kyle called out frantically, not wanting his pokemon to get hit again after such a strong attack.

Squirtle popped out of his shell and ran fast towards the fire puppy to Tackle him. Torick quickly changed plans as Kyle ordered his pokemon to shoot fire out towards Squirtle.

"Quick Squirtle, use Withdraw again!" Torick called out.

His aquatic pokemon obeyed and popped into his shell again. The Flame Wheel sent the pokemon flying again into a couple of rocks and then towards Growlithe once more.

"Quick Growlithe!" Kyle ordered, "Duck!"

Growlithe quickly "hit the deck" and found himself lying on the ground as Squirtle's shell flew over his head.

"Now Squirtle!" Torick had a big smile on his face as he saw an opportunity to seize. "You're really close to Growlithe, use Bubble!"

As the turtle pokemon soared above Growlithe, he once again popped out of the shell and launched bubbles towards the fire pokemon.

"_Well, it's time to see how much Growlithe can take a hit…"_ Kyle thought to himself as he decided to make a very risky move. He then raised his voice, his heart beated with so many nerves. "Growlithe leap through those bubbles and land a Tackle attack on that Squirtle!"

Growlithe barked with determination as he jumped into the spray and cried out in pain as the bubbles severely damaged him. Growlithe successfully pushed through the pain and trampled on top of Torick's Squirtle and pinned him onto the ground. The water pokemon struggled to move his arms and legs, and was unable to withdraw for protection.

"Now Growlithe," Kyle said with a victorious smile. "Finish things off with a point blank Flame Wheel!"

Growlithe obeyed and launched a devastating fire attack at Squirtle's face. Typically fire attacks wouldn't do much against Squirtle, but Growlithe was powerful enough and close enough that this particular Flame Wheel was enough to finish the water pokemon off.

"Squirtle is unable to battle!" The ref yelled, as Squirtle's eyes swirled around. "The victor of this match is Kyle Rogers! He will progress to round 2!"

Everyone cheered not just for the winner, Kyle, but both boys as this was a fantastic match. Both trainers summoned their pokemon back and complimented them on a job well done. After the match both trainers shook each other's hand once again as they exited the arena space so the next pokemon battle could take place.

"That was a fantastic match." Kyle told Torick as they walked away, "Your pokemon sure are tough! I wasn't sure if my Growlithe could withstand those bubbles…and he almost didn't! I'm not discounting my pokemon's ability, but I think part of our win today was a little on the side of luck honestly. I hope to battle you again someday, Torick."

"Oh don't worry we will." Torick smiled, "We're going to train extra hard for that rematch Kyle, and my Squirtle will come out on top next time, I promise! I' m going to go get my pokemon rested up at the Pokemon Center and then we'll be trekking through Mt. Moon to Cerulean City. I really hope our paths cross again sometime soon!"

"Good luck on your journey!" Kyle said as Torick began to walk away towards the pokemon center. "I'm going to go find my friend, he's going to have a match soon!"

Meanwhile Alexander was in the Pokemon Center with his younger sister Anysha. As the fifteen year old trainer got her two pokeballs of the pokemon she chose to use for the tournament, her brother kept going on about the last battle they witnessed.

"That Growlithe was amazing!" Alexander spoke with excitement. "Did you see the power in his Flame Wheel? Or how he had just a little more defense then normal Growlithes which allowed him to take that vicious Bubble attack from the Squirtle? Oh my goodness, there is so much we have yet to learn about Shiny Pokemon…I simply must meet that trainer, Kyle, who owns that Growlithe!"

"Do whatever you want," Anysha rolled her eyes at her geeky brother. She loved him a lot but he had moments when the craving for research just completely overtook him. "I got a match coming up, so I'm going to go get ready for that. This Zack Porter guy…I heard some Pewter City folk talk about that he's pretty decent. Eh, I'm sure I can win!"

"Listen Anysha…" Alexander put his hand on his little sister's shoulder and knelt on one knee to speak to her. "I just want to make sure that you picked your pokemon…wisely…for this next match?"

"Get off my back about that!" Anysha barked as she knew exactly what Alexander was talking about. "I'm 15 years old you know, I am fully capable of making my own decisions when it comes to pokemon training!"

"I know that!" Alexander reassured and encouraged his sister. "You're a _great_ trainer, Anysha…and you have really great and strong pokemon! We both know that…but this is the first tournament you've been in where you can only use two. Up til now, your pokemon have really functioned well as a complete team…I know how tempting it can be to bring out certain pokemon and…"

"You're just trying to tell me not to use Intimidator!" Anysha started to storm out of the pokemon center.

"He's still a little wild, to say the very least!" Alexander followed his sister out of the pokemon center as he continued speaking. "I just think we need to be a bit more careful using him…that's all."

"I'll do whatever I want when it comes to pokemon battles." Anysha turned around and spoke seriously to her brother. "Look, I appreciate the concern really…but we got this. My pokemon are all really good, and they love me. They all know what a big deal this exhibition is to me and will respect the battles, I'm sure of it!"

"I hope you're right…" Alex muttered to himself as he watched his sister walk away to the pokemon arena to begin her battle with Zack. "I have a bad feeling about this though…"


End file.
